Daddy's Boy
by Headbanger Rockstar
Summary: Sequel to Terminal Orders. Explores episodes of the first year Tony lived with the Gibbses. Warning: Violence, Child abuse and abandonment. AU & OOC. TonyGibbs Father/Son. 2nd story in Terminal Orders Series.
1. The First Night

**Special Thanks** to GotGoats for cowriting this chapter with me! You rock dude!  
><strong>Warning: <strong>Mentions (in depth) about child abuse and abandonment. May be disturbing to some readers.  
><strong>Author's Note:<strong> This story is a continuation of my one shot, Terminal Orders. Many readers requested that I write a sequel and/or series following this AU. This story will revisit the flashbacks from Terminal Orders in depth, as well as explore a couple of other incidents that we haven't seen up until now. Story spoilers and direct quotes taken from Terminal Orders. You might want to read it first.  
><strong>Disclaimer:<strong> I don't own NCIS or any of its characters. No episode spoilers, Gibbs/Tony father-son.

**Daddy's Boy  
><strong>By Headbanger_Rockstar

**Chapter 1: The First Night**

The Gibbs family was leaving the state fair. It was a warm, late summer night and seven year old Kelly was asleep, head on Shannon's shoulder, her little legs wrapped around her middle. It had been the perfect day. That morning, Jethro had signed the papers for his reenlistment for another four years in the Marines.

As they neared the car they heard something rattling a metal trashcan lid. Jethro glanced around, and his eyes widened when he saw the source of the sound. There was a little boy on the ground near the trashcans. It looked like he'd fallen over, causing the noise that Jethro and Shannon had heard. He was alone, and, going by his appearance, had been alone for some time.

"Go to the car," Jethro told Shannon quietly, handing her the keys and the large stuffed animal Kelly had won. She looked at him fearfully and headed for the car without a word.

Gibbs stepped closer, not sure what the situation was, but trying to gather as much information as he could. He reached out a hand and jerked back, surprised, when the child screeched suddenly and flinched away.

"Hey easy," Gibbs said softly, his voice just above a whisper. "I'm not gonna hurt you. Take it easy son," he whispered.

To say the child was dirty would be an understatement. It was nearly impossible to even tell the race of the child because of all of the dirt and filth caked on him. The little one had matted hair that hung in limp clumps and the rags the child wore were in tattered ruins.

"W-whatchu wan' wih me?" Suspicious green eyes stared up at Jethro and for a moment he was floored by how old this young child looked.

"I heard you fall…I just wanted to see if you were alright," Gibbs said gently. "I wanted to see if I could help you."

"I's fine," the child said, and turned away.

"Oh. Well then I guess you don't want this bag of popcorn," Gibbs said, playing a hunch that was tickling his gut. "We had it left over. I guess I'll just throw it away." He turned and started to move away.

"Wait," the child stammered, slowly pushing himself back to his feet. "C-could I's have…maybe just some?"

"Oh you do want some? Ok come over here," Gibbs indicated a picnic table and started over to it. He made sure they stayed in plain sight of the parking lot. People these days were nuts and he'd be damned if he was going to get in trouble over something like this.

The child began moving toward the picnic table, and it was quickly obvious to Gibbs that there was an injury or deformity of some variety that prevented the little one from walking properly. It was likely the reason the child had fallen over in the first place.

Once the child made it to the table and sat down beside Gibbs, two little hands folded patiently in the tiny lap and the matted head bowed low. "Whatchu wan' me a do for you?"

For a long moment Gibbs just closed his eyes. It was worse than he'd feared. He didn't speak for a long moment, choosing instead to open the bag of popcorn and hold it out for the little one. "I want you to eat all you want," he said gently, his gut twisting. "Once you've had all you want then I want you to talk to me, ok? My name is Jethro and I'd like to help you."

The child attacked the bag with an energy and a fervor that Gibbs hadn't seen from him up until now. Two hands began shoving popcorn by the handful into the little mouth and Gibbs feared the child would choke.

"Hey, hey slow down," he said gently. Jethro put his hand over the child's and stopped his frantic eating. "I don't want you to get choked. If you eat that fast you might get strangled. No one is going to take this away from you," he ran a gentle hand over the back of the child's head and down the back. He tried not to grimace when he felt every single bone in the child's back and ribcage.

The child slowed down but only a bit. The popcorn was still packed into the small mouth, but with smaller handfuls now. Once the bag was empty, Gibbs offered his cup of soda for the child to wash it all down with.

"That better?"

The child nodded, suddenly shy.

"Can I ask you some questions?"

The suspicious look returned, but the child nodded.

"Can you tell me your name?"

There was a beat. A hesitation. Finally the child spoke, softly. "Tony a-Nozzo."

"Tony where are your parents, son?"

Another hesitation. "Mama went a heaven, Jethro."

Gibbs closed his eyes for a moment and his gut twisted again. "I'm sorry about that," he said softly. "Do you know where your Daddy is?"

Tony thought for a long moment then shook his head sadly, his eyes fixed on his tattered pants. "Nope. Tol' me I's a sniveling lil shit and needed a not bother him no mores."

Warning bells went off in Gibbs' head. This was a bad situation. Very bad. He should just walk away—shouldn't get involved with this. He should…how could he possibly leave this child behind?

"How'd you get here Tony?"

The child looked at him for a long moment. "F-father picked-ded me up and throwed me outta da car. Tol' me he din't wanna see me no mores. Tol' me I's disowned-ded. Din't gimme no food, no moneys, nothin. I heard people's talkin' bout goin' to the fair. I never been before. Father say fairs is for rednecks an' stupid people. I thought it looked fun."

"How old are you?"

Tony thought about it for a long moment, and then carefully counted on his fingers. "I's five," he said softly.

"Can you tell me about what happened to your leg Tony?" Gibbs was fighting down the urge to vomit, sob, and go hit something. This child needed him to hold it together and listen to him.

Tony's little forehead wrinkled and he looked away. Gibbs' gut tightened again. "Tony? C'mon son, you can tell me what happened."

"I falled down," he said finally, but he wouldn't look at Gibbs. He swiped at a sudden tear that tracked down his dirty face. Definitely a lie, Gibbs decided.

"Did you see a doctor? Looks like it hurts pretty bad."

"Jethro I cain't even get food, how's I gonna get a doctor?"

Gibbs nodded. That made perfect sense to him. "My wife is a nurse. Her name is Shannon. Would you come with me? I just want to make sure you're alright."

"I cain't pay," Tony said softly. "Gotsa have moneys."

"You won't have to pay for it Tony. I want to help you. Will you let me?" Tony thought for a moment and then nodded. Gibbs smiled and stood up, holding out a hand for him. "C'mon, we'll get ya taken care of," Gibbs said gently.

"I don't think I's ever been taken a care of a fore," Tony said thoughtfully as they walked along. "What's it like?"

Gibbs stopped and glanced down at this little boy, so young, and so jaded already. "Being taken care of…well it's nice. I think you might like it."

Gibbs' heart nearly burst when the child suddenly hugged his legs. Gibbs smiled and knelt down so he could return the gentle embrace. "I'm gonna carry you ok? So you don't have to walk on that hurt leg anymore."

Tony nodded his head against Gibbs' neck and the two set off for the car. By the time they made it back, Tony was asleep, head on Gibbs' shoulder.

Shannon got out of the car and gasped. "Jethro? What in the world…"

"He's been abandoned," Gibbs said quietly. "He's only five years old, and he's nearly starved. Someone hurt his leg too; he can barely walk on it."

Shannon stepped up close to Jethro, carefully eyeing the small child in the strong Marine's arms.

"We have to help him," Jethro said. "I can't leave him here like this."

"We'll take him home with us and I'll call the hospital and ask what we should do. For tonight we'll give him a bath and a soft bed to sleep in. After that we'll just take it a step at a time and see what happens."

Jethro nodded. "Will you drive? That way I can sit and hold him without waking him up," he said softly.

Shannon nodded and got behind the wheel. Jethro climbed into the backseat with Tony in his lap. He held the little boy securely while Shannon drove carefully and wondered what they were going to do.

xxx

Tony woke up when the car stopped and his eyes flashed in fear. He didn't know where he was, or how he'd gotten here. There was someone holding onto him, their arms were tight around him…

Tony shoved back against Jethro suddenly and sat up, looking around him, trying to understand what was going on.

"Hey buddy, you're safe it's ok. It's me Jethro, remember? You're safe now, we're at my house. That lady right outside the car is my wife Shannon, and the little girl in the car seat there is Kelly. We're gonna go inside alright? Get you all taken care of."

Tony looked at Jethro for a long moment and then nodded silently and put his head back on Jethro's shoulder. Inside the house, Shannon deposited Kelly on the couch and then headed for the kitchen. Jethro carried Tony into the kitchen and sat on a stool at the bar.

"Tony are you hungry, Sweetie," Shannon asked. Her voice was naturally soft toned and the child raised his head up and looked at her.

"Jethro done gaves me popcorn," Tony said softly.

"Are you still hungry?" Jethro's voice was soft too, and gentle. Tony liked these people. Maybe they wouldn't hurt him.

"F-father said s'not nice a ask f-for f-foods," Tony said softly, his eyes drifting downward.

Shannon and Jethro shared a look. "You aren't asking us for food honey," Shannon said, folding her hands and leaning on the bar surface. "We're offering it to you. We'll give you anything you want to eat that we have," she told him. "You just have to name it."

Tony looked uncomfortable. "I-I don't know," he said softly. "I's dunno what's to eat," he continued. "I's hunnngwy though."

Shannon smiled at him and nodded. "Then I will make you something to eat. Do you like blueberry pancakes?"

Tony raised an eyebrow and stared at her. "I's dunno what's that is," he said quietly. "I's sorry."

"No reason to be sorry," Shannon told him gently. "I'll just have to show you what blueberry pancakes are. They're Jethro's favorite."

Tony looked up at the man who'd been so kind to him and watched as he smiled at Tony. "I think you'll like them," Jethro said to him.

"I'll make some for Jethro and Kelly too," Shannon said with a wink. "Jethro can never turn them down and Kelly's nose is like a puppy's. The minute she smells them she'll wake up and want some."

Tony seemed to fold in on himself a bit. "Makes sures they's gots enough a fore you gives me any," he said.

Tears filled Shannon's eyes and she kept her gaze on the bowl she was mixing batter in, her back was facing Tony. Jethro hugged Tony gently. "You get first pick," he said. "Kelly and I will have what's left when you've had all you want."

Tony turned shocked eyes to Jethro. "That not a how it a-pposed a work!"

Jethro shook his head. Not for the first time this evening he wondered at the hell this child seemed to have been delivered from. "That's how it's working tonight though," he said. "Next time we'll all eat together, but this time Kelly, Shannon and I have already had dinner. We don't want you to be hungry all night. You get to eat all you want and if there's leftovers Kelly and I will have some. But you will eat first. Hear me?"

Tony nodded and dropped his chin to his chest. He didn't want to screw up. He didn't want to get in trouble. Why couldn't this nice man understand that he'd get in trouble for eating so much?

A few minutes later Shannon set a plate stacked high with blueberry pancakes in front of Tony. "Now let me show you how Kelly likes these," Shannon said. "First you put some butter on them, like this," she said, spreading the creamy butter all over the warm pancakes. "Then you take the syrup and you pour it on them like this," she said, demonstrating. "Do you want me to help you cut them up?"

Tony looked at her, clueless about what she meant, and nodded. Shannon scooted the plate away from Tony so she could cut them up for him, but she stopped when she heard the small sound emit from the little boy. The tiniest of whimpers had escaped his lips and now he looked up at her with a horror stricken expression.

"I's sorry," Tony said. "I's sorry ma'am," tears filled his eyes. "I's didn't mean to whine," he whispered.

"Honey I'm only cutting them up so you can eat them," Shannon said, cutting the pancakes quickly and efficiently. She scooted the plate back to him. "I'm not going to take them away from you. Here Sweetheart, now you can eat them easier, see?"

Tony looked up at her uncertainly. "Go ahead," Jethro whispered. "Eat up. They're my favorite—I bet you'll like them too."

Tony carefully picked up the fork. He tried to remember every lesson his father had taught him about manners and eating with a fork, but he was so scared of doing it wrong that his hand trembled. Jethro and Shannon looked at each other and watched as Tony stabbed his first bite of pancake and then dropped the whole thing, fork and all, on the counter.

His eyes widened with fear and he gasped softly for several breaths. "Easy buddy," Jethro said softly. He picked up the fork and stabbed another bite. "Here we go," Jethro said. "Try again ok?"

"I's maked a mess," he whispered. "I's sorry."

"It's alright Tony," Shannon said. "No big deal." She wiped the counter off and then poured more batter into the frying pan, cooking pancakes to avoid watching the small, starving child eat. She didn't want him to see her cry because of him, but he was breaking her heart.

Jethro held the fork up to Tony's mouth and the child stared at it for a long moment before looking at Jethro. "You wanna do it?" he asked the child softly.

Tony shook his head. "I's maked a mess," he whispered. "I's no good."

Jethro set the fork down and gently wrapped his fingers around Tony's hand. "Then we'll practice together," he said with a wink. "We'll have you using this fork like a pro in no time at all." Together they stabbed the pancake and this time, the bite went successfully into Tony's mouth.

"There ya go! Good job!" Jethro praised him joyfully, and he thought his heart would burst at the sound of pure pleasure that escaped the child's lips at the taste of the hot, fresh food.

"Dis ish a besh shing ever," Tony said around the food in his mouth. He and Jethro carefully forked another bite into his mouth, immediately followed by the same little sound of pleasure again.

A moment later Kelly appeared and Shannon winked at Tony. "Told ya. That puppy nose of hers never fails." Kelly giggled and Shannon and Jethro smiled at her.

"Mama?" Kelly asked as she crawled up on a stool next to Jethro. "Who's he?" she indicated Tony with her head. She'd slept the whole trip back home and hadn't seen Tony up until now.

"Kelly this is Tony. He's going to be staying with us," Shannon said.

Kelly looked at the little boy. He was covered in dirt! Shannon never let her near food when she was that dirty. "Mama why's he so dirty?"

Tony made a soft choking sound and tried to scramble out of Jethro's lap so he could run away. Jethro held him firmly and wouldn't let him go. "Kelly that wasn't a very nice thing to say," her father said gently.

"Oh." The little girl eyed the little boy carefully for a long minute. Tony began to squirm under the scrutiny. "I'm sorry," she said politely. "How old are you?" Kelly wanted to know next. If this boy was going to be sleeping in her house she wanted to know _everything_ about him.

"I's five," Tony said softly.

"Well I'm seven," Kelly said. Shannon set a plate with a pancake on it in front of her. She took a bite and crossed her eyes in exaggeration of her pleasure. "Aren't Mama's pancakes yummy?"

Tony nodded and Jethro helped him eat another bite. Kelly watched him for a long moment, wondering where this boy had come from, and wondering why her daddy was being so nice to him. Her daddy was always nice to her, but he wasn't always nice to strangers. "Are you friends with my daddy?"

Tony looked at her for a moment and then looked up at Jethro who smiled and nodded. "Yeah, Kells," Jethro said softly. "Tony and I are friends."

"Oh," Kelly said, nodding as though that explained everything. "That's cool," she said and continued eating.

xxx

After they finished eating, Shannon hurried off to Walmart to get some clothes for Tony to wear—at least some jeans, shirts, and underwear. They'd figure out the rest later. After she got back Jethro passed Tony off to Shannon so she could look the boy over for injuries and give him a bath. Jethro helped Kelly get ready for bed. Once Tony was out of the bathtub, Jethro gave him an old t-shirt of his to sleep in. Shannon helped him put it on, and Jethro's eyes narrowed slightly when he saw the bruises and scars on the child's ribs and back. "I'll take him to see John tomorrow," Shannon told Jethro, who nodded in agreement. John Walters was Kelly's pediatrician.

"Go on into that bedroom right there and crawl into bed," Shannon said softly, pointing Tony in the direction of the guest bedroom. "We'll be in there in just a second to tell you goodnight," she told him. Tony looked up at her for a long moment, before heading off in the direction of the bedroom with slumped shoulders.

Shannon kissed Kelly goodnight and walked into the hall, where her husband stood with a confused look on his face.

"What's wrong?"

"Didn't you just send Tony in here to get to bed?"

"Yes." Shannon spoke the word slowly. She peered around her husband, looking into the guest room where the double bed remained perfectly made. There was no sign of Tony anywhere.

"Tony?" Gibbs spoke softly. "Where are you?"

Tony's small head poked out from under the bed. He looked up at the Gibbses, confused.

"You's told me a go a bed." Jethro wanted to kill someone at that moment. He walked to the young boy and knelt by him.

"Up on the mattress, and under the covers, son." Tony's eyes grew wide.

"But I's not a-pposed a sleep on the bed." He shook his head fiercely. "I's peed in mine. F-father said no more beds for me. I's sleep under them. Not on them." His eyes were downcast, ashamed to look at the nice people who had given him so much food at dinner.

"Tony, look at me, please." Gibbs struggled to keep his voice calm, while Shannon stood in the door, wanting nothing more than to hug the tiny boy whose head still poked out from under the box-springs. Tony looked up, his eyes filled with fear. He had done something. Something bad. His father never wanted him to look at him unless he was in trouble.

"How's many?" Tony's voice shook.

"How many what?"

"How's many smacks? And do I's have a takes my pants off?"

"What are you talking about?"

"You's sounds mad and want me a look at you." Tony shrugged. "I's did a bad thing." He looked confused for a moment. "What did I do?"

"You didn't do anything wrong, Tony." Jethro was fighting to keep his voice from shaking. "I need for you to come out from under the bed, buddy."

Tony crawled out and stood slowly, his bad leg shaking slightly. His knee wobbled and he nearly fell, catching himself with the quilt. He wasn't sure what was going to happen to him now. Maybe he wasn't good enough at dinner—he'd dropped his fork and made a mess. Maybe it was because he couldn't keep his leg strong. Maybe it was because he didn't do a chore. He couldn't remember hearing any job given to him or Kelly…Kelly. Maybe she didn't like him! Maybe he had to leave because he was worthless. His father was right. He was worthless. He was stupid. A tear rolled down his cheek. Jethro reached out a gentle hand and stroked Tony's damp hair. The boy flinched before taking the necessary step to fall into the tall man.

"I-I-I's sorry." Tony wailed. Jethro ran his hands up and down the child's arms gently soothing him.

"What for, Tony?" Shannon joined them on the floor, sitting down and pulling the child into her lap. She cradled him against her chest, rocking slowly as she spoke.

"I-I-I's d-d-don't know!" They barely heard his quiet whimper.

"You're not in trouble, honey." She sing-songed as she rocked. "No trouble at all." She stroked his hair while her husband rubbed the boy's back. Jethro took over speaking.

"In this house, we sleep in beds, Tony. And if you wet the bed, we can clean it, and you can go back to sleep in your bed with clean sheets and a new nightshirt."

Tony sniffled. He wanted to believe so much, but he was afraid. They'd given him food, and a new pair of pants and two shirts. And now they wanted him to sleep in a bed. His tiny mind was on overload. He began to sob, clutching at Shannon's shirt.

The couple sat rocking the malnourished child, silent communication passing between them over his head. Tony was staying. Even if they had to fight until he was 18. The boy finally fell asleep while the Gibbses rocked and consoled.

xxx

Sometime during the night Tony woke up and discovered his sheets were wet. He froze in terror. The Gibbses were woken by a terrible scream. Tony sat still on the bed, unaware of the screams that passed his lips. Shannon picked him up and took him to the bathroom to clean up while Kelly came stumbling out of her room, panic written on her face.

Jethro led his daughter back to her room. "It's ok, Sweetpea. Tony had a bad dream. Go back to sleep, ok princess?" He tucked her into her bed and kissed her forehead. Her eyes dropped closed again almost immediately. She was softly snoring when he reached the door.

By this time, Shannon had Tony cleaned up, and was sitting in the living room on the couch. Jethro checked in on his wife and the little boy and then headed up to change the sheets on the bed. Tony was sobbing into Shannon's chest, his face buried and his body trembling.

Ten minutes later, he returned and carried the still trembling Tony back to his bed. The child whimpered as he was set on the bed. He had expected to be punished, and they hadn't done it yet. To his surprise, Jethro pulled the covers over his shoulders and tucked him securely into bed once again.

"Accidents happen, son. Sometimes when you're asleep, you have to pee and don't know it. You'll get better about waking up when you have to go. Kelly does it too, sometimes." Jethro bent down and kissed Tony's forehead. "You'll stop doing it when you're older, Tony. Until then, we'll be here to help you. Go back to sleep, ok? We're gonna get you into see the doctor tomorrow so we've got to be ready to go early."

"Ok," Tony yawned. As much as he was afraid to sleep now, his emotions had been through the ringer. He felt as if someone had taken a straw and sucked out all of his energy. His eyelids drooped, then he blinked, and finally his eyes stayed closed as his breathing evened out and his body lost its tension. Jethro sat by the boy for a while, just watching him sleep. Tomorrow he'd go back down to the wharf and see if he could find out just how long the boy had been living there. Tonight, though, he'd keep guard.

No one would hurt this child again. Not while he had a breath left.

TBC


	2. The First Day

**Warning**: Tissues may be required (I needed some to write it). Discussion of abuse and neglect. Content may be disturbing to some readers.  
><strong>Author's Note:<strong> I don't know a lot about the Child Protective Services program in California. Any mistakes are unintentional—this kinda information is tricky to find and I didn't have a lot of luck.

**Daddy's Boy  
>Chapter 2: The First Day<strong>

Shannon woke up the morning after Tony came to stay with them and looked around, wondering where her husband was. It was still early for him to be awake, even though he normally rose before the sun. She slid out of bed and padded down the hall, pulling on a robe as she went. She poked her head in Kelly's room and smiled at the way her beautiful baby girl was snuggled around Mr. Giggles the bear, thumb wedged firmly in her mouth, drooling all over her pillow. Smiling and shaking her head, Shannon closed the door softly and turned to poke her head in the room across the hall.

She opened the door softly and smiled sadly at the image that greeted her. Jethro was seated in the old nursing rocker that they'd stuck in the guest room, sound asleep with his head back against the chair. And there, curled up in his lap, was Tony. He didn't look comfortable, his head rested on the wooden arm rest at an awkward angle, and judging by the fact that Jethro wasn't holding onto Tony in some way, Shannon was willing to bet that Tony had crawled up onto her husband's lap while he slept.

She started to close the door back when Tony suddenly shifted. Shannon froze, not wanting to startle the poor boy, and smiled sadly when he looked surprised at where he was, and quickly shifted off of Jethro. Tony moved to the floor and tucked his knees up to his chin and wrapped his little arms around his legs. He rocked back and forth a bit and Shannon moved to his side, dropping to the floor and sitting next to him.

"Good morning Sweetheart," Shannon said softly, wrapping an arm around the boy. "Did you sleep well?"

Tony nodded, but his movements were stiff and jerky. "I's sorry I maked a mess last night inna bed," he whispered.

"Oh honey that's alright. Accidents happen. We just clean them up and move on," Shannon said. Above them in the chair, Jethro snored once, before resettling.

"I's dunno why's I was in Jethro's lap," Tony said softly.

"Well Kelly's told me that Jethro has a pretty comfy lap," Shannon said with a smile.

"The bed was really squishy," Tony said, his eyes widening a bit. "I's scared I's gonna fall off."

The child must have been sleeping in the floor for quite some time for him to be afraid of rolling off the bed. If Tony stayed, perhaps they would lower the bed, or maybe put the mattress on the floor until Tony adjusted to it. Shannon smiled. "Do you think you could go back to sleep?" The child shook his head. Shannon nodded. "Would you like to get dressed?"

Tony was still for a moment then nodded. "I's gonna wear my new shirt?"

"If you'd like to then you certainly may," Shannon said. Last night before putting the children to bed she'd rushed to Walmart to buy a couple of shirts, some underwear, socks and a pair of pants for the little boy. It wasn't much, but it'd get them by until they figured out the next step.

"I's don't like dock-ters," Tony said softly. He'd heard Shannon and Jethro talking the night before, and he knew the doctor was coming. He didn't like it, but he didn't know how to get away from it.

"I think you'll like Dr. John. He's very nice," Shannon said. "Kelly likes him."

"He's a gonna hurts me?" Tony turned a fearful gaze on Shannon and her heart twisted.

"No sweetie. He's just going to check you out and make sure you are alright. I don't think he'll hurt you."

"N-no needles?"

Shannon sighed. "I can't promise that," she said. "But I can promise that I will be with you the whole time and I won't leave you alone."

Tony nodded and slowly climbed to his feet. His leg always hurt, but it was worse when he first woke up and a soft groan escaped his lips as he put weight on it. Shannon held his elbow gently to support him, and the soft groan woke Jethro. He sat up and looked around.

"You ok?" His eyes filled with panic, even as his brain struggled to catch up.

Shannon nodded. "Tony woke up and we were just about to get him dressed."

Jethro nodded and ran a hand over his face. "Time is it?"

"Almost five," she said. "You could go back to bed if you want. I'll stay with Tony."

Jethro blinked a couple of times and then shook his head. "I get up at five anyway. Might as well stay up." He shrugged. "Morning buddy," he said to Tony with a smile.

Tony stared at him for a long time before his face slowly split into a small grin. Jethro smiled wider. "You _can_ smile!" he exclaimed. "It's a nice smile Tony," he said gently when the boy's cheeks colored slightly.

Shannon quickly stripped Tony's nightshirt off and pulled his new shirt over his head. Tony liked the green shirt that Shannon had picked out for him. It had a fire truck on it. "Look at that handsome boy," Shannon said, as she straightened his shirt. "That green looks nice on you, Tony."

Tony smiled again.

"What time do you have to go in today Jethro?"

Jethro stretched and yawned. "The guys are supposed to be there by 0630. I figure I should be there by then too," he grinned.

"You's a gotta go a work?"

Jethro nodded. "I'm a Marine Gunnery Sergeant. It's my job to make sure the guys who are ranked lower than me are doing what they're supposed to be doing."

"You's a gonna hit 'em if they's bad?"

"No Tony," Jethro said softly. He wondered what violence this child had seen. "I might make 'em run, I might make 'em scrub the floor with a toothbrush, but I'm not gonna hit anybody." Jethro decided then and there that even if he _did_ have to hit someone he'd never tell Tony about it. He didn't want the child to relate a person being hit to him.

And then Jethro wondered why he cared—they didn't even know if the child would be with them after today. But he found himself hoping that they could keep Tony.

Shannon took Tony by the hand and started leading him slowly towards the stairs. Tony's balance was off this morning and he stumbled a couple of times, but Shannon didn't let him fall. Tony wondered at this—his father would likely have pushed him further down the stairs, rather than catching him and keeping him from getting hurt.

Tony didn't know what to think.

Jethro sat at the table with Tony while Shannon fixed breakfast. Jethro had offered to cook, but Shannon shook her head and smiled. She was making omelets and Tony was curious what that was. He'd never had a omelet before. As they sat at the table, Jethro looked at Tony.

"Tony do you know how to use a telephone?"

Tony thought about it for a minute then nodded. Jethro smiled and nodded.

"Good. I'm going to give you something, and I want you to keep it ok?"

Tony nodded again, wondering what this nice man was going to give him. He hoped he was able to keep it and not screw up by losing it.

Jethro handed him a business card. "This card has my phone numbers on it Tony. It's got my number for my work, and it's got my number for at home, ok? I'd like you to keep the card, and I'd like you to learn the numbers so you can remember them if you need them."

Tony took it and held it as though it were made of precious crystal that would break if mishandled. He nodded reverently and stared at the card.

"If we ever get separated," Jethro said, "for any reason at all, I want you to have this card so you can call me ok? I will help you."

Tony nodded. He'd not lose the card. Ever.

xxx

That morning Shannon was able to get her in to see her friend, John Walters, who was Kelly's pediatrician. She told him the unusual story of how the child had come to be with them, and when she told him about his physical state, he'd agreed to see Tony immediately.

The doctor's eyebrows had raised immediately upon looking at the boy. Under the bright lights of the exam room, the bruises stood out in stark contrast to the child's pale skin, and the scars were an angry pinkish red color. Dr. Walters was gentle though, and he had a bright, fun-loving smile. It didn't take long for Tony to begin doing as he asked, allowing the doctor to perform a (so far) painless examination.

Dr. Walters frowned when he saw the recorded numbers for the child's height and weight. "Shannon," the doctor said softly, "I'm concerned about these numbers."

Shannon nodded. "I thought you might be. Is it as bad as I think?"

"He's severely malnourished. I've checked his body mass index and he's less than the fifth percentile for his weight. At 44 inches tall, Tony should weigh anywhere from 38 to 46 pounds. He weighs 26 pounds."

"My gosh," Shannon breathed. "So at the minimum he's twelve pounds underweight."

Tony eyed the grownups in the room carefully, wondering what all the big words meant. He didn't understand things like Body Mass Index and malnourished. He didn't like doctors, even though he couldn't remember ever meeting one before, and he'd certainly not ever been treated by one. His father had told him time and again that doctors were mean, awful people who only wanted to hurt others, and who liked to stick little children with needles and poison them. Tony didn't know what poison was, but he didn't think he wanted to find out.

So far this doctor hadn't been mean to him, but Tony wasn't trusting him. He didn't like this, not one bit, and the frown on his face told everyone what he thought of the situation.

"Hey take it easy little guy," Dr. Walters said, and showed him the nice smile again. "So I want to ask you some questions," he said, sitting down on the rolling stool in front of Tony.

Tony eyed him warily and didn't respond. Tony hadn't uttered a peep since they'd walked into the building. Dr. Walters looked at Shannon. "Can he talk?"

Shannon nodded. So did the doctor. Tony didn't like this. Was the doctor going to _make _him talk?

"How have things been going lately Tony?"

Tony stared at this man, trying to understand what sort of answer you give to a question like that. Tony had no idea. He shrugged.

"I heard from Shannon that she and Jethro found you at the fair."

Tony nodded. That was true.

"Can you tell me where you've been sleeping?"

Tony thought about it, recalling the trash can he'd slept in one night, the cardboard box he'd curled up under another night, and one night he'd slept under a bridge. That hadn't been good because he almost rolled into the river. He'd slept in a myriad of other places, but those were the main ones that stood out. But it wasn't something that made him happy…so he shrugged again.

"Tony," Shannon's voice was still soft and gentle, but now there was a firmness to it that hadn't been there before.

Tony looked up at Shannon with more than a little bit of fear in his eyes. Was _Shannon_ going to make him talk?

"Tony," Shannon softened her tone a bit and smiled sadly at him. "We're only trying to understand what you did before we found you. We want to help you Tony, but you have to talk to us, Sweetie."

"I's don' wanna," Tony whispered, shaking his head. He scooted on the table until his back hit the wall and then he froze.

Dr. Walters held up his hands in a non-threatening gesture, and the child flinched hard, "No I's sorry!" he cried. "I'll tell you's," he wailed. "I's be good, please don' hurt me," he whimpered.

Shannon gathered him in her arms and hugged him gently. "Oh no baby shhhh it's ok Little Tony," she said softly. "We're not going to hurt you," she rubbed his back gently. "Never going to hurt you." She glanced at his friend.

"I have to report his case to Child Protective Services," the doctor said softly.

Shannon nodded. "Do you think he can stay with us?"

"Do you have a foster care license?"

Shannon shook her head. "I didn't even know you had to get one."

The doctor sighed. "In California you do. Basically it's just a background check, a parenting class, and a CPR course."

Shannon nodded. "We'll start the paperwork right away. Until then…?"

"I'll call and make the report, tell them where he's staying and that he is safe with you all, and let the social worker figure out what needs to happen next."

Tony was still and quiet now in Shannon's arms. It sounded like they might send him away! He hoped it wasn't because he hadn't wanted to talk about what had happened…before. He raised his head and looked at the nice lady with the red hair who had been so kind to him.

"S-Shannon?"

"Yes Sweetie?"

"I's wanna stay with you and Jethro."

"I know baby, but it might take some time. We have to make sure it's ok first. But you'll be safe ok? And you've still got Jethro's card so you can still call and talk to us. Even if you aren't living with us we want to be your friend still alright?"

Tony was unsure but he nodded. The doctor smiled sadly and nodded as well. "I suppose that just leaves one last thing to do," he said, turning to the desk.

Shannon maintained her gentle hold on Tony, rocking him slowly and letting him relax in her embrace. This next part was probably not going to be pretty.

"I'm going to give you some medicine Tony," the doctor said softly. "But because we don't know where you're going to be staying, I'm going to just give it to you in one big dose and we'll go ahead and do it here so you don't have to worry about it anymore, ok?"

Tony glanced over his shoulder at the doctor standing behind him. His eyes widened in fear when he saw what the doctor was holding and he began to tremble. "N-n-no, n-no, I's don't wants it! N-Nooooo," Tony cried.

"We have to give him this booster shot in his leg," Dr. Walters said softly. "I'm just going to pull your jeans down a bit Tony. It's going to be fine. Everything is ohhhh kay," he said, dragging the word out.

Tony squealed in fear. The doctor wrapped his fingers around Tony's bad leg and Tony froze in fear. Would the doctor hurt his leg? Would he break it because Tony cried? His father told him that doctors give shots of poison to little kids—was that what would happen now?

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Tony screeched, arching his back and nearly falling out of Shannon's lap and onto the floor. When he wrenched his body, the doctor's hand didn't let go of his leg, so it twisted a bit and hurt more. The doctor's hand was getting closer to his leg with the needle—it wouldn't be long now until he got the shot…

Tony kicked out with his other leg, and nearly kicked the doctor in the face. "One second," he said. "I'm going to call a nurse to come in here and help us," he said gently, with a sad smile on his face. He hated that he was scaring the boy worse, but this had to be done. A moment later, he returned with a pretty young nurse in tow, and she gently held his other leg so that Tony couldn't kick the doctor. The doctor gently held Tony's bad leg, and Shannon held onto Tony's upper body to keep him still and keep him from arching and wrenching away.

Tony screamed as the needle pierced his skin. "I'm sorry," the doctor whispered, pressing the plunger down, even as Tony's screams increased tenfold when the medicine burned. "I'm almost done, almost done hang on little one, hang on buddy," he said gently. "It's ok, it's ok," he pulled the needle out. "There I'm all done. You did it!"

Tony stared down at his leg that had the shot. He couldn't even see where the needle had made its injection, but he could still feel the medicine—poison—burning through his veins and he screamed again.

Shannon held him gently, rubbing his back soothingly. "It's ok angel," she whispered in his ear. "I'm not gonna let him hurt you. That was medicine to help you not be sick," she said. "You're safe, you're just fine," she said. She brushed Tony's now sweaty hair back from his face and wiped away his tears.

"I-I-I's want Jethroooo," Tony wailed, burying his head in her shoulder with a thunk.

Dr. Walters stepped out and a moment later came back in with a very severe looking middle aged lady. She wore a gray suit and her salt and pepper hair was pulled back tightly. She wore glasses on her nose and a look of disinterest on her face.

"Is this the boy," she asked. Dr. Walters nodded. "Is this the woman who found him?"

"My husband found him," Shannon said. "And you are?"

The woman's eyes narrowed slightly. "My name is Anne Joseph," she said. "I work with Child Protective Services."

Shannon nodded and closed her eyes. "I didn't realize you were going to take him so soon," she said softly.

"Well he isn't yours to keep," the CPS worker said.

"No, but we're already quite fond of him," Shannon said, slightly defensively. "My husband will be quite upset if he doesn't get to say goodbye to him. So will our daughter."

Tony raised up when he heard Shannon's words. They were going to send him away! He'd tried to be good, but he hadn't wanted the shot…oh now he'd messed everything up.

"Shannon," Tony said softly. "Shannon I's sorry I's cried," he said, and no one in the room missed the desperation in his voice. "I's wanna stay with you's and Jethro," he said, his voice now wobbling with the weight of the unshed tears in his eyes. "I's be good, I's sorry I's cried," he said. "Please don't makes me go 'way."

Anne Joseph's face softened at the tiny child's plea. "I will let you take him," she said. "But I have to come get him this evening. That will give your husband and daughter time to see him?"

Shannon nodded. She didn't like it, but it was the best she could do for now.

Anne nodded. "I will be there at eight o'clock tonight. That will give me the afternoon to arrange a home to place him in."

"My husband and I are interested in getting our foster care license," Shannon said. "If we do that, would it be possible for Tony to be placed with us?"

Anne thought for a moment. "If the child is not happy where he is placed, then there is some consideration given to him moving to a new home. However if he is satisfied where he is, and if the foster parents feel it is a good fit, we do not typically move them unless a need arises."

Shannon nodded again. "I understand," she said softly. She hugged Tony and kissed the top of his head. "We can keep in touch with him, though, right?"

Anne shook her head, "That is up to the foster parents," she said. "Maybe, maybe not. I can't say for sure."

"Jethro isn't going to like this," Shannon said. Tony clung tighter to her. _He _wasn't going to like it either. He had to keep his card that Jethro gave him. He had to learn the numbers and he had to never forget them.

xxx

Shannon was right—Jethro hated it. The instant that Shannon told him what the social worker had said, he'd raced up the stairs to the room where Tony lay sleeping on the bed, and scooped him up. Tony was running a low-grade fever from the booster shot he'd been given, and thanks to a dose of children's Tylenol had been taking a short nap before dinner.

Jethro held the boy gently, cradled against his chest, and rocked him slowly. Tony clung to him, and began to cry softly, his fear and unease over the situation bubbling to the surface, and spilling pitifully down his cheeks.

"Gonna be alright Buddy," Jethro said, even though he wasn't convinced of the truth in the words. "Miss Anne will find you a nice place to stay," he said. He hugged Tony tighter. Not even twenty four hours had passed since they'd found the little boy, and already he'd completely wormed his way into Jethro's heart. "You still have my card, right?"

Tony nodded against his shirt.

"I'll come anytime you need me Tony. If you're scared, or lonely, or hurt, I will come help you if you call me. I promise you I won't break rule number three." Tony looked up at him with a confused expression on his face. Jethro smiled. "Rule number three. Never be unreachable. If you call me I will come."

Tony laid his head on Jethro's chest and closed his eyes. He still didn't feel good, his leg hurt, and now he was being sent to live with some stranger. What if they were mean like his father? What if they didn't want him to eat or got angry with him if he peed the bed? Tony began to cry again and Jethro simply hugged the child tighter, and rested his cheek on top of his head. He couldn't promise Tony that everything would be perfect. He could only hope the social worker knew what she was doing.

That afternoon Shannon had informed Jethro that the two of them were enrolling in the foster care licensing program through Social Services. She told Jethro what Anne Joseph had said about the possibility of having Tony placed with them, and he agreed wholeheartedly that they needed to get the license. He hoped whoever got Tony would treat him well and give him the care and attention he so desperately needed and craved.

Dinner was a subdued affair. Kelly was deeply saddened to learn that Tony wasn't going to be staying. Everyone was quiet at dinner, and Tony couldn't help but feel like it was his fault—he'd done something bad, something so wrong that Jethro and Shannon weren't even telling him about it—were simply sending him away. But it wasn't the first time Tony had been forced out. It wasn't the first time he'd not been good enough. It wasn't the first time he'd been unloved.

At eight pm on the nose, the doorbell rang. The Gibbses and Tony all looked at one another and Shannon slowly opened the door to let Anne Joseph inside.

"Good evening," Anne said pleasantly, seemingly not noticing the morose atmosphere she'd walked into. "Tony? Are you ready to go?"

Tony shook his head once, but then looked at Jethro and Shannon, who smiled sadly at him. "I's wanna stay," he said softly, turning back to Anne.

"Unfortunately my dear, that isn't possible," Anne said gently, with a sad smile.

Tony turned to Jethro and Shannon, tears filling his eyes. "Did I's do bad? Is that how's a come you's sending me 'way?"

Shannon lost control of her tears and they rained down her face. Jethro dropped to his knees and opened his arms. Tony rushed into the embrace and held on, relishing the way Jethro ran his hand down the back of Tony's head. Jethro's touches never hurt. Tony liked that.

"You aren't bad," Jethro said softly, his voice quivering with emotion. "You haven't done anything wrong. It's just a rule Tony. You have to go stay with someone who knows how to take care of you. But Shannon and I are going to learn. We're going to get the license we need so you can come stay with us ok? We love you buddy. We don't want you to go."

Tony raised his head and looked at Jethro, surprised to see the tears in the man's eyes. "Jethro? How's a come I's can't stay?" Jethro just shook his head and hugged Tony again.

Tony pulled away and turned to Anne. "I's a be good," he begged. "I's a do my best to be good."

By now even Anne was moved by the situation. She cleared her throat and took a deep breath. "This isn't because you've been bad Sweetheart," she said. "It's about making sure you're safe. We have to talk to a lot of people—Jethro and Shannon, your father, Dr. Walters, and the people you are going to go stay with. We have to decide what is best for you."

"I's happy here," Tony whispered. He looked back to Jethro, and tears fell from his eyes. "I's don't wanna go," he said, his voice breaking over the last word like waves on the beach. "I's wanna stay."

"I will try to arrange for visitation for you all," Anne said softly. "Though I'm not sure it would be beneficial right now. He'll need to form a relationship with his new family…"

"We are his new family," Kelly snapped. She crossed her arms and walked right up to Anne Joseph. "Tony's ours. We found him, we should get to keep him. I don't like you."

Anne looked sadly at Kelly and then to Jethro and Shannon. "It isn't easy for any of us," she said.

"It could be," Jethro said, running his fingers over his eyes to wipe away the tears.

"I'll be in touch," Anne said. "I'll let you know where he ends up."

"Please do," Shannon said, her voice cracking as more tears fell down her face.

"Say goodbye Little Tony," Anne said gently, taking the boy's hand in her own and lifting the Walmart bag that contained all of his worldly possessions.

Tony looked back at the three people who inside of just a day had become his favorite people ever. Tears fell from his eyes, and he couldn't make his voice work. He took a deep breath, and with a defeated sigh, turned and followed the social worker out the door.

"We'll get him back," Jethro whispered, watching Shannon embrace Kelly. "He's a Gibbs now," his voice was fierce, filled with anger and sadness, and he met Shannon's equally emotional gaze. "He's ours and we'll do whatever it takes to get him back."

He stood and walked to the window and watched as Anne Joseph loaded Tony up in the car seat and then backed out of the driveway. Jethro felt like his heart had been ripped right out of his chest.

"Stay strong Buddy," Jethro whispered as the car drove away and tears rained from his eyes. "We'll see you soon."

TBC


	3. Fall

**Warning: **Angst ahead…**  
><em>Thanks as always to gotgoats for your help! You are awesome!<em>**

**Daddy's Boy  
>Chapter 3: Fall<strong>

"Tony what would you like for breakfast?" Stacy, his new foster mother asked him. It was early November and Tony had been staying with Stacy and Ted for two months now.

Tony limped slowly into the kitchen. His leg was hurting more and more these days. Sometimes it felt like he could barely walk on it at all. He'd dressed carefully in his little khaki pants and little button down shirt. He'd put a sweater on too because he was cold. Now he sat down at the table, like he was expected to, and finally answered Stacy's question. "Blueberry pancakes please."

"Oh no that isn't healthy Tony! You must eat something healthy! What about some nice oatmeal?" Stacy's voice was a bit high pitched, and a bit screechy. She was a nice lady, but she treated Tony differently than she treated Sammy, who was her real-life son. Sammy was nine years old and perfect. He was everything Tony was not.

"Ok," Tony said, knowing by now that it was pointless to argue. A moment later a bowl of semi-heated oatmeal was placed in front of him—just as it had been every morning for the last two months. Tony sighed and looked out the window. The leaves were starting to change color a bit and the air was slightly cooler.

"Eat up," Stacy said. "We don't want to be wasteful!" Stacy got mad when food got wasted so Tony started to eat.

Even though Tony was five, he hadn't started school this year. He'd wanted to, but Anne Joseph had not gotten the paperwork done in time to get him enrolled. He had only seen her one time since she dropped him off with Stacy and Ted, and that had been the day after he'd come here. She came by and asked how things were going. Stacy and Ted were all smiles and "he's so wonderful" and "he's adjusting so well" and "we're so happy to have him"…just what Anne wanted to hear. She was happy the child was placed with a happy family. She'd hated to take him from the Gibbses because they obviously cared so much for him, but these parents were licensed. They were the better choice.

Most days though, Tony thought he might be happier to be living on the streets again. Stacy and Ted were only glad to have him because apparently they got a paycheck for keeping him. He didn't like it here. He wanted to go back to Jethro.

xxx

Jethro sat at the table and sipped his coffee. He'd been much quieter since Tony had left them. Shannon was concerned for her husband, but knew that he handled things in his own way. She wouldn't push unless things got bad. She set a plate of blueberry pancakes down in front of him and their eyes met sadly.

"Can barely swallow blueberry pancakes anymore," Jethro whispered, as he picked up his fork.

Shannon ran her fingers lovingly through her husband's hair, her nails scratching lightly on the back of his head and she pulled him into a gentle hug. He rested his head against his beloved wife's chest and let out a long sigh and wrapped his arms around her middle.

"Do you think they're taking good care of him?"

Shannon hugged him a little tighter. "I think so," she said. "We could call Anne and see?"

"Do you think we should just let it go? Obviously he's happy or they'd have brought him back to us." Shannon and Jethro had finished up the six week long parenting course two weeks ago. They were now licensed to keep foster children.

"I think we should call Anne," Shannon said.

Jethro ran a hand over his gut. He missed his boy. He nodded at Shannon. "Probably a good idea," he said softly. "My gut's been tingling for—"

"For two months now," Shannon said quietly. "Your gut isn't wrong Jethro. Ever. I'll call Anne today."

xxx

The night Tony had gone to stay with Stacy and Ted, Stacy had clucked and fussed over the clothes he'd brought with him.

"Walmart clothes? Oh dear this won't do," she said, tossing the brand new clothes into the trashcan. "No my dear we've got you some much nicer clothes here," Stacy told him. "You'll be wearing these nice khaki pants, these shirts with collars, dressing like a gentleman," she continued. "You won't be needing these…play clothes. You need to look nicer than that."

They'd cut his hair, scrubbed him until his skin was pink, and ever since then he'd been dressed in stiff uncomfortable clothes, and scratchy pajamas every night. Tony missed the soft blue jeans that Shannon had gotten for him with the comfortable cotton shirts. He missed Jethro's old t-shirt that he'd slept in for one night.

Night time. That was another thing Tony hated. Because he still had such a problem wetting the bed, Stacy and Ted made Tony wear a pull-up diaper at night. "We can't have you making a mess in the sheets all the time, now can we?" Stacy said sweetly as she put the diaper on the child. "I, for one, don't want to spend every night changing your bed."

As Tony ate his oatmeal for breakfast that morning, he rubbed his bad leg absently. He couldn't find Jethro's card anywhere. He'd looked all over his room (that he shared with Sammy) for it, and he couldn't find it. He carefully set the spoon on the table and looked up at Stacy who was carefully nibbling on her own bowl of oatmeal.

"Stacy?"

She stopped eating and looked pointedly at him. "Yes Tony?"

"A-a fore I's comed here…J-Jethro gave me a c-card with a-a n-nummer on it," he began softly, but Stacy cut him off.

"The business card that was in your things when you arrived?"

Tony nodded.

"I threw it away. Really Tony you don't need to remember that part of your life. It's over and gone now, it's all behind you. You're going to stay with us and we'll make sure you are cared for."

Cared for, Tony decided, was not the same thing as loved.

"I wanna call him," Tony said. "I miss Jethro."

"You have Ted now. He's your new father-figure. Jethro doesn't want to be bothered by you."

Tony blinked. He hadn't considered that. Perhaps she was right. Maybe he shouldn't try to get in touch with him.

He frowned and nodded. Then he continued eating without saying anything else. Stacy smiled into her coffee.

xxx

"_This is Anne Joseph, may I help you?"_

"Good morning Anne. This is Shannon Gibbs."

There was a pause. _"Oh. Hello," _came the stiff reply.

"I was wondering if you've heard from Tony and how he's doing?"

"_He's fine," _Anne replied. _"At his last visit he appeared to be adjusting well."_

"When did you see him last? We're just so worried about him and we miss him so much."

"_I saw him just after I placed him,"_ Anne replied. _"You don't need to worry about him. The state of California is quite capable of keeping a child alive."_

Shannon's eyes narrowed. "I'd like to talk to his foster mother," she said. "Could you get me the phone number please?"

"_I really don't see why that's necessary."_

"It's _necessary_ because I have a husband who can't eat because he's so worried about Tony. It's _necessary_ because I have a daughter who, only after a day of having Tony with us, now asks us every day if Tony is alright, and when he is coming back. It's _necessary_ because we care about him," Shannon said. If she'd had it to over again she'd have treated Tony herself at home and never reported that they had him—even as wrong as that would have been, she thought it would be better than this.

"_Listen Mrs. Gibbs, I understand you are concerned. I understand that you and your husband have received your foster parenting license. But you must understand that we are under no obligation to tell you anything about this child. We are under no obligation to accommodate you in any way regarding Tony."_

"And you call yourself a civil servant," Shannon bit out. "You, the person who is supposed to make sure that children are cared for, that they're happy, haven't even checked on him in two months. He could be dead for all you know."

There was another long pause. _"I will contact his foster parents and see if they would be open to a visitation. It is their decision though."_

"It should be Tony's decision."

"_I will be in touch, Mrs. Gibbs."_

Shannon heard the phone click in her ear and growled in frustration. She slammed the receiver down and ran a hand over her forehead.

xxx

"Of course he does not want to see Jethro and Shannon," Stacy screeched into the phone later that day. "We are trying to help him move beyond that very painful part of his life—why would we subject him to such a terrible reminder of that time in his life? I don't care what these people want—it's unhealthy for the child. Absolutely not."

Tony listened to Stacy talking on the phone and shook his head. He wanted to see Jethro and Shannon more than anything! He rushed up to Stacy's side. "You's wrong! I's wanna see Jethro and Shannon and Kelly! I's wanna see them mores than anything!"

Stacy paused and asked the caller to hold on for a moment. She set the phone on the counter and turned to him. There was an expression on her face that Tony hadn't ever seen before. She looked so angry.

"Listen to me you ungrateful little brat," Stacy snapped right in Tony's face. "You are not to see those people again. They are beneath us. We've taken you into our home. You belong to us now. Those people don't love you. They don't want to see you. You aren't going to see them. Just forget about them."

Anne Joseph's eyes narrowed as she overheard what this woman was saying to Tony. Perhaps she needed to pay them a visit.

"NO! JETHRO LOVES ME! HE TOL' ME SO!"

"If he loves you so much, then why aren't you with him now?" Stacy sneered, "If he loves you so much why'd he send you to live with me?"

Anne quietly hung up the phone. She'd heard enough. She kicked herself for not checking on Tony sooner, but Stacy and Ted were such nice people…

Anne ran a hand over her forehead and groaned. She thought for a moment and then picked up the phone again. She had a phone call to make.

xxx

"Gibbs residence," Jethro answered the phone.

There was no one on the other end it seemed. All was quiet.

"Hello?"

Still no response.

"If someone's there, could ya say something?"

Tony listened to Jethro's voice and ached for the man. Never in his life had he felt so safe as he had when Jethro was with him. Sammy had helped Tony look up the phone number in the phone book. Sammy could read. Tony couldn't.

"_What are you doing? You little brat who are you on the phone with?"_

Jethro's eyes narrowed as he overheard the woman's voice through the phone.

"_Who is this?" _ Stacy yelled into the phone.

Jethro's eyes narrowed. "I could ask you the same question," he said coolly. "You called me."

"_No my son must have called you," _Stacy recovered, her voice brightening up to a pleasant timbre. _"He's always playing with the phone. Five year olds…they're so silly," _she chuckled.

Five year olds…Jethro's eyes widened. "Are you Tony's foster mother?"

There was a pause and a moment later the phone clicked in his ear. Jethro stared at it for a long time, wondering how he could figure out the number that had just called the house. Tony needed him. He'd put money on it.

xxx

There was a knock at the door that evening, that caught Stacy and Ted by surprise. "I wonder who that could be," Ted said, heading for the door.

Tony was in time out in the closet for his impromptu phone call earlier. Ted peeked through the window and quickly turned around. "Get Tony out of time out," he whispered to Stacy. "It's Anne."

"Oh shit," Stacy whispered. "She must have heard me fussing at Tony earlier today while I was on the phone," she said.

Stacy rushed to the closet in the hall where Tony was serving his time out. The child was trembling and shaking fiercely. He was afraid of the dark—had been ever since his father had locked him in the closet for a whole weekend, back before he'd been thrown out. Tony was crying and whimpering pitifully and Stacy's eyes widened in panic.

"What is wrong with you," she hissed. She shook Tony's shoulders lightly trying to snap him out of it, but all that did was throw him off balance because of his leg and he fell over. That made him cry harder. Ted glanced around the corner, wondering what was going on and Stacy shrugged helplessly. "Stop crying Tony," Stacy said, the urgency was not missed in her voice. "You've got to calm down you're going to get in trouble. Anne's here," she said. "You don't want to get into trouble with Anne."

Tony sniffed and tried to stop crying, but his breathing was still shaky and uneven. Ted nodded that Tony was calm enough and opened the door. "Good evening Anne!" he exclaimed. "What a surprise!"

Anne stepped in the house. She'd heard Tony crying only moments earlier. "How is everyone this evening" her voice was pleasant, belying her concern.

"We're fantastic," Stacy said, a huge smile on her face, her voice bubbly and full of energy.

"I'm here to see Tony," she said. Stacy and Ted shared a instantaneous pained glance that Anne didn't miss. "Unless this is a bad time?"

"Oh no this is a perfect time," Stacy said, hoping to God that Tony kept his damn mouth shut. "Please, sit down. Tony! Sweetheart come out here! Miss Anne is here to see you!"

Tony rounded the corner and saw the woman who had left him with these terrible people. He came quietly over to her and stood, straight, tall, and stared straight ahead.

"Tony?"

"Y-Yes ma'am," Tony replied softly. His gaze didn't leave a spot on the wall behind Anne's right shoulder.

"Are you doing alright?"

Tony's eyes flickered with pain, but his gaze didn't falter. "I's fine."

"Tony you aren't supposed to talk like that. Remember we've been practicing. How are you supposed to respond," Stacy scolded.

Tony's eyes closed for a long minute and when he reopened them they were bright with unshed tears. "Sorry ma'am," he said softly, and his voice cracked with emotion. "I-I'm f-fine thank you m-ma'am." The words were slow and didn't seem to come naturally to him.

Anne narrowed her eyes. "Are you happy here?"

For the first time since she'd arrived, Tony felt a flicker of hope. What if he told her how unhappy he was? Would she take him away? Would she take him back to Jethro? Or would she scold him for being a bother and leave him here with these people?

Tony took a deep breath and finally—_finally—_he looked right into Anne's eyes with as much fear, sadness, and unhappiness he could manage. "N-No ma'am," he whispered. "I's not happy."

Anne lifted the tiny boy into her lap. She had to fix this. This poor child had been through so much, all he wanted was to be loved, and he deserved that and so much more. "Tony, can you tell me how I can make you happy?"

Tony sniffed and looked at the social worker. "I miss Jethro," he whispered, his voice cracking. "I's begged and begged a call him but Stacy tol' me Jethro don't wanna hear from me no mores," he said. Tears slipped from his eyes and dripped off the end of his nose as he sat with his head bowed.

Anne looked sternly up at Ted and Stacy. "Have you spoken with the Gibbses?"

Stacy nodded. "I spoke with Jethro earlier today. Apparently Tony found the phone number. I'm not sure what Tony said to Jethro before I got on the phone, but he seemed very inconvenienced by the call."

Anne's eyes narrowed. "Funny because I spoke with Shannon earlier today and she was telling me how much Jethro wished he could speak with Tony to make sure he was doing alright. It didn't sound like he'd be inconvenienced to hear from him."

Stacy shrugged helplessly. She didn't know what to say. Sammy, who was playing a handheld video game on the couch spoke up then without looking away from his game. "Tony cries for Jethro every night in bed. I think he'd be happier if he could go stay with him. I like having Tony here, because it's fun to have a brother, but I think Tony doesn't like being here so much."

Tony was still whimpering softly in Anne's lap. "I've found a permanent placement for Tony," she said. "If you'll go collect Tony's things for me, I'm going to go ahead and move him tonight. There's no reason to prolong this," Anne said.

"Just like that?" Ted sputtered. "I thought _we_ were the permanent placement for him? Don't you see he needs some tough love? He needs to be taught how to speak properly, how to play, how to act—when we got him he couldn't hardly use a spoon to eat with! He needs very rigid guidance right now."

"No," Anne said softly. "What he needs right now is love. I'm not saying you all don't care for Tony. You are good foster parents—I've placed several children with you and they have done fine. But those were children who needed that strict hand."

"I don't know why they put Tony in time out," Sammy spoke up. "He only wanted to call and hear Jethro talk on the phone. He didn't say a word. I'm the one who looked up the number," the child said. "They didn't need to put him in the closet."

"You put him in the closet for time out?" Anne's temper flared and she stood up. She gently helped Tony stand up and get his balance. This was completely inappropriate.

Ted shrugged helplessly. "Tony's a…difficult child to manage," Ted said weakly. Stacy came back with a bag of fancy soap, lotion, and nylon socks and underwear. She had a handful of hangers with clothes on them dangling from her fingers as well.

"He's a five year old boy who just wants to be loved," Anne snapped. She snatched the clothes from Stacy and looked at the bag. "Does he not have any toys? No books?"

"He's been sharing with Sammy," Stacy said.

Anne stared at Stacy for a long moment. "I'm going to suspend your fostering privilege while we conduct an investigation," she said. She looked down at the small little boy who was still crying, who looked completely lost and confused by the evening's events. "Tony are you ready to go home?"

Tony shook his head and ran his forearm over his runny nose, wiping snot up his sleeve. Stacy bristled. "I's don't have a home," Tony whispered softly.

Anne smiled. "Sure you do. Come on. I'll take you."

She and Tony left the house without another word, and without looking back.

xxx

Jethro, Shannon and Kelly were watching The Little Mermaid (for the 800th time) when there was a knock on the door. Shannon smiled. She'd kept Anne's phone call a secret this afternoon from Jethro and Kelly. "Jethro wanna get the door," she said.

"Sure babe," Jethro said. "You guys keep watching the movie. I'll be right back."

Jethro was aware that Shannon followed him to the door and opened it. His eyes widened when he saw who was there. He glanced over his shoulder and Shannon smiled at him. "Surprise," she said softly.

"What? Hello! Please come in!"

Anne Joseph stepped into the house, carrying the sleeping child carefully in her arms. Tony was exhausted from everything and had fallen asleep on the drive over.

"It's been brought to my attention," Anne said, "that this family is missing one of its members. I spoke with Shannon earlier today and she told me how much you have been missing Tony. I decided to go pay him a visit this evening to see how he was adjusting, and what I found was a little boy who has been horribly missing Jethro."

"I…I don't understand," Jethro said, sitting down on the couch. Kelly turned off the television when she saw Tony asleep in Anne's arms.

"Because of the nature of Tony's home situation," Anne said. "We feel it is very important to find him a place where he will receive love and guidance. He needs to feel he is part of a family, and he needs to learn and understand what that love looks like. That requires us to find a permanent placement for him; a family to take him and make him a part of their unit, a family who will keep him until he is an adult."

"And you've chosen a permanent placement for him?" Jethro didn't dare hope…but he knew his heart would break if Anne only brought Tony to say goodbye.

"I have selected a permanent placement for him, based on information I have been given," Anne said. She smiled fondly at Tony and woke him up gently.

Tony raised his head from her shoulder and rubbed his eye with a cupped hand. "Welcome home Tony," Anne said softly. "Meet your new family."

Tony didn't turn around to look at his new family. He didn't want to see them. He only wanted to be with Jethro and Shannon. He shook his head sadly.

"Tony?" Shannon spoke softly. "Don't you want to see Jethro?"

Tony's head shot up and he stared at Anne in disbelief.

"Turn around Tony," Anne said softly. "And look."

Tony turned around and stared at the Gibbses for a long moment before scrambling off Anne's lap so fast he fell down. Jethro scooped him up and hugged him, and the boy clung desperately to him. "It's ok now Tony," he said, running his hand over the boy's back and head softly. "It's ok. I've got you. You're ours now and we're not going to let anyone hurt you ever again."

Tony hung on to Jethro for a long moment before turning and looking at Anne. "I's can stay?"

Anne nodded. "Jethro and Shannon did everything they needed to do to make sure you could come back here. After seeing how unhappy you were with Stacy and Ted, I fixed it so you can live with Shannon and Jethro forever."

Tony's face burst into a huge smile and he giggled. Jethro smiled. Tony turned back to Jethro and held his face in his tiny hands. "You's a don't put me in times out inna closet though, right?"

Jethro's face became instantly stormy and he looked with malice at Anne for a brief moment then back to Tony. He smiled gently. "Not ever," he said. "I promise."

Tony hugged Jethro again and waved at Kelly. Kelly climbed up on the couch next to them. "Hey Tony," she said. "You wanna finish watching the movie with us?"

"Tony might not like The Little Mermaid," Shannon said softly.

Tony smiled and waved at Shannon who smiled and waved back. "Hi baby," she said.

"I's don't want no mores shots," Tony told her and everyone laughed.

Shannon smiled and nodded. "No shots. Not anytime soon, anyway." She winked at Tony. "I'm so glad you're back sweet boy," she said.

"Me too! I always wanted a brother," Kelly said. "We're going to have so much fun, you're going to love living here."

Jethro and Tony stayed quiet. They were saying plenty to each other without speaking. Tony felt safe again—finally safe, and suddenly so sleepy.

"I have his clothes and things in the car I'll just go get them," Anne said. "But you might want to buy him some new things. What he has…well it doesn't really suit him," she said.

"We'll take care of it," Jethro said. "Whatever he needs we'll get it for him. He's ours. We've got him. We got him back Shannon. We got our boy back," Jethro's throat closed with emotion and he choked back tears. He hugged Tony a bit tighter.

"Looks like he's right where he wants to be," Anne said softly. She nodded with her head to indicate Tony, who was now asleep on Jethro's shoulder.

Jethro smiled. His boy was home. He was safe. He was his. No one could hurt him anymore.

The Gibbses thanked Anne and sent her on her way. There was much to do—their family had just grown by one.

TBC


	4. December

**Warning:** Senior Alert! Content may be disturbing to some readers, be advised.  
><strong>Thanks<strong> to everyone who has read, commented, alerted, and favorited the story. You rock! Special thanks to Gotgoats for the beta help :)

**Daddy's Boy  
>Chapter 4: December<strong>

December 21. The first day of winter. Jethro took a deep breath and tried to calm his churning gut. He was sprawled out on the firing range, scope set up, rifle in hand, ready for his qualifications round. He and his unit had spent most of the morning out on the firing range. It was nearly lunch time and Jethro wanted his boys to be finished by then. He was ready to head back inside where it was warmer and get something to eat.

It never got bitterly cold in sunny, Southern California at Camp Pendleton. Not like it did back in Stillwater, Pennsylvania where Jethro and Shannon had both grown up. Today the temperature was in the low 50s, but there were a lot of clouds in the sky. Jethro readjusted his position just slightly. He figured that Tony was likely feeling the cold temperatures today in his little leg more than everyone else would be feeling them. Almost immediately after Tony had come to stay with them, Jethro and Shannon had gotten in touch with a childhood orthopedist named Dr. Trexler.

Dr. Trexler had fitted Tony for a brace to try straightening his leg out. Each night they had to change it ever so slightly, trying to work the bones in his leg back into a straightened alignment. It was horribly painful for Tony and for Jethro and Shannon. What was worse, now Tony's leg seemed to hurt more than normal, and on top of that, the brace really didn't seem to be helping.

Jethro tried to push all thoughts of doctors, leg braces, and Tony out of his head for the moment and focus on the task at hand. It was tickling the back of his mind though…something wasn't right. His gut was churning. Gibbs took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He had to calm down or he'd never make the shots.

He was given the all clear to fire his weapon and Gibbs fired off six shots in quick succession at six different targets. Once he was finished, he raised up and glanced out over the firing range. He'd missed two shots. Dammit. He'd have to try again.

"Everything alright Gunny?" One of the sergeants was huddled nearby, snuggled up with his own scope and rifle, preparing to make his own shots. "You never miss."

Gibbs just glared at the slightly impetuous young man. He started to say something when a Staff Sergeant came running up unexpectedly.

"Gunny! Gunny you've got a phone call! They said it was an emergency," the young man panted. Gibbs' gut clenched and a ball of fear tightened in it quite painfully.

"Who? Where's the phone? What's going on?" Gibbs was already on the move, following the SSgt back towards the building next to the firing range.

"It's the daycare sir. They said that it was absolutely imperative that they speak to you immediately. I think it has to do with your kid, sir."

"Don't call me sir, I work for a living," Gibbs snapped as he picked up the phone.

"Yeah, Gibbs."

_"Gunny? I'm sorry to bother you, but this is Miss Nicole from the—"_

"Is Tony alright?"

_"If you're able to break away sir, it might be best if you just came over here."_

Gibbs hung up the phone and left. As he got in his car he told the Staff Sergeant to make sure everyone finished before they went to lunch. He sped off in a squeal of tires, and never looked back.

xxx

Miss Nicole raised her hand and blew her whistle. "Green Room, let's go please! Time to line up," she called, even as she headed for the door. She could hear a collective groan of small children from the playground and smiled. It was nearly lunch time and that meant she had to keep the kids moving so that hands could be washed and all the children could go potty before lunch. Once lunch was over, it was a whirlwind of activity that involved sweeping, mopping, brushing teeth, patting backs to get children to go to sleep for naptime…yeah she had to keep moving.

The children lined up at the door like they'd been taught and Miss Nicole began to count heads. Miss Ashley was standing on the other side of the line, showing the kids how they should be standing—with one finger over their lips, one hand in the air to show they were ready to go, and not touching their neighbors. Nicole stopped and frowned. She looked at Ashley.

"How many kids did we have here today?" Nicole started counting again.

"Fourteen." Now Ashley was counting too.

"I'm only counting thirteen," Nicole said, glancing around.

"Me too," Ashley said.

Mr. Ryan poked his head out the door. "You ladies ok?"

"Mr. Ryan will you stand here for just a second? Someone didn't come line up," Nicole said. She checked her pocket radio to make sure the communication device was working and then set off across the playground. This particular playground made her nervous because there was a gate on the backside of it. If you didn't watch very closely, it was not hard for a child to try to slip away.

Just as she rounded the corner of the building she saw a man grab little Tony by the arm, just on the other side of the gate. Tony didn't make a sound, but his eyes were wide and round with fear.

"Hey!" She yelled out to the man whose eyes widened and he froze momentarily. "What are you doing? Tony? Come on back inside the gate Sweetie; it's time for lunch."

"Tony is coming with me," the man said, not letting go of the little boy's arm.

Miss Nicole crossed her arms. "No, Tony's supposed to stay here. No one notified us that he'd be picked up early today or by anyone other than his parents," she said. "And he certainly wouldn't be picked up from the back of the playground."

The man's face turned red. He was dressed nicely, button down shirt with a tie and nice pants. He looked like a business man. She couldn't figure out why he was messing with little Tony.

"Look," the man said, his entire demeanor changing. "This is all a big misunderstanding. This little boy is my son. My name is Anthony DiNozzo Senior," he said. He flashed a charming smile at the teacher and her eyes narrowed slightly.

"Tony doesn't have anyone by that name on any of his information," Nicole said briskly. "Now if you'll please let him come back inside the gate—in fact, why don't you come too? I'm sure we can work all of this out. It's likely a big misunderstanding," she said, playing to his charm. She was roping him in…letting him think he was getting the upper hand. "You look like a very nice person; I'm sure we can sort all of this out," she said with a smile that didn't reach her eyes. She was no fool.

Senior nodded his head and reentered the gate, dragging Tony along with him. "In fact," Nicole said. "Since we have to work out all the paperwork confusion, why don't we just let Tony go eat lunch, and by the time he's finished, I'm sure we'll have all of this figured out," Nicole said.

"I'd rather keep Tony with me," Senior said.

"It wasn't a suggestion," Nicole said firmly. "Our program is required to feed the children lunch every day. You wouldn't want to get me into trouble, now would you Mr. DiNozzo?"

Senior gave the girl a scathing look, but quickly morphed it into a placating smile. "Of course not," he sneered.

Nicole nodded. "Right this way," she said. She reached into her pocket and hit the button on the side of the radio—the one that set off the alarm at the front desk that they needed to lock down the school.

There was a dangerous person on the premises.

xxx

Miss Nicole gently reached out and took Tony's hand. He was trembling horribly and could barely maintain his balance. She gently hooked an arm under one of his elbows to help him stay upright. "Ok," she whispered. "Ok it's ok, you're ok."

She led Senior to a door that opened into an empty room. "If you'll wait for me right here I will be back with you in just a moment to get this confusion sorted out," Nicole told him. "I've got to get the children settled first. Are you in a big hurry?"

"I certainly don't have all day," Senior snapped.

Nicole offered him a smile. "Well we will do everything we can to have you out of here in no time at all," she said.

Senior, thinking he had the woman completely fooled, smiled and nodded. "Thank you so much," he said politely.

"Oh believe me, Mr. DiNozzo," Nicole said. "It's my pleasure. Come on Tony, you ready for lunch?"

The child looked up at her, trying to understand what was going on. Miss Nicole needed to keep his mean old daddy away! Why was she being so nice to him! He didn't want to eat, but he didn't want to stay with his father either. He wanted Jethro.

Miss Nicole all but dragged Tony out of the room. Her steps were too quick, too hurried; Tony couldn't keep up. She stopped and knelt before him for just a moment, cupping his face lightly in hers. "I'm not going to let him take you away," she murmured. "But I have to keep him here until the police officers can get here, ok?" she was whispering now, and she rubbed her hands gently up and down his arms. She pulled him into a gentle hug and felt his entire body trembling.

"Can I carry you?" She asked him softly. Tony nodded. She scooped him up and ran down the hall—away from their classroom and toward the front desk.

"Maggie?" Miss Nicole didn't need to ask the question. The receptionist at the desk knew protocol. She knew when that button got pushed you called the MPs in without question. With them on their way, Maggie turned to Miss Nicole.

"What's going on?"

"There is a man in the multipurpose activity room who tried to kidnap Tony," she said softly. "He had him outside the gate—I still don't know how he got the gate unlocked," Nicole said. "I managed to talk him into coming inside and he's in there waiting for me to come back and 'sort out paperwork' with him. You need to get the police here in a hurry."

"They're already on their way. I called the MPs the minute you sent the signal," Maggie replied. She looked at Tony. "My goodness, but he's pale. Is he hurt?"

Miss Nicole looked at Tony. "Are you alright sweetie?"

Tears filled Tony's eyes and he shook his head slightly. His entire body quivered in fear. Nicole hugged him gently. "Gonna be ok," she whispered.

"I want Jethro," Tony whispered back. "He needs a keep my mean-daddy 'way," Tony said softly.

"That man really is your father?"

Tony nodded sadly. Nicole's gut churned. She looked at Maggie. "Would you mind handing me that phone," she said softly. "And find me Jethro Gibbs' phone number please."

Maggie had told the Military Police to keep their sirens off when they arrived so they wouldn't startle the children. Two silent police cars pulled into the parking lot and four MPs got out and walked inside, weapons drawn and ready to fire at any moment, at any threat.

If there was one thing you did _not_ do, it was mess with the children in the daycare center on base. It simply wasn't done.

"He's in the multipurpose activity room," Maggie told them. "He's expecting one of our teachers to come speak with him about paperwork."

"What happened?"

"He tried to take Tony here off the playground—he had him through the back gate. He had him by the arm and was dragging him away, but I got to him just in time to stop him," Nicole said. She was dialing the number for Jethro's office.

"Is he armed?"

"Not that I could tell," Nicole said. "He'd have probably shot me if he was. I wasn't exactly Miss Sunshine with him."

Nicole asked to speak to Jethro and groaned out loud when they told her he was at the firing range. "It's like playing hide and seek some days," she muttered, hanging up the phone and dialing the number for the firing range. "I need to speak with Gunnery Sergeant Gibbs please."

A moment later she breathed a sigh of relief. "Gunny? I'm sorry to bother you, but this is Miss Nicole from the—"

"_Is Tony alright?"_

"If you're able to break away sir, it might be best if you just came over here."

xxx

Jethro didn't know what was going on, only that Tony's teacher needed him to come to the school. Was Tony sick? Hurt? Had something happened? He felt sick when he saw the military police cruisers in the parking lot. Those guys weren't normally over here. Something had to have happened. He opened the door, trying not to draw attention to himself and stepped inside.

"JETHROOOOOOO!" Tony's shriek echoed down the hallway and the child nearly fell over trying to scramble over to him. Jethro met him halfway and scooped him up. Tony buried his face in the side of Jethro's neck. Jethro frowned when he could feel the little boy trembling in his arms, and the tears on his skin. He wondered what had happened. Tony loved going to school here.

"Gunny?"

"Miss Nicole," Gibbs said tersely. "What's going on?"

Before anyone could speak further, a door slammed open from down the hallway slightly and Tony whimpered. A man was being led out of one of the rooms in handcuffs, by four military police officers.

"You crazy motherfuckers I don't know what the hell you think you're doing but you cannot arrest me! I have rights! I am a father! I have rights!" Senior looked up and saw Jethro holding Tony. "YOU! You bastard you stole my son from me! This is outrageous! This is kidnapping! You idiots he's got my son let me go!" Senior struggled against the MPs, trying to get to Jethro who watched him with an icy glare. He ran a soothing hand up and down Tony's back.

Tony whimpered again and clutched Jethro's uniform even tighter. Jethro hugged him a little tighter. A sudden realization dawned and Jethro's eyes widened. "Ohmygod," Jethro whispered. "Tony? Baby are you ok? Son are you hurt? Look up here Tony, are you alright?"

"J-J-Jethro," Tony whispered. "I-Is m-my m-mean-d-daddy g-gone y-yet?"

Jethro watched as they forced DiNozzo Senior into the back of one of the cruisers and locked him in. "He's gone Tony. Let's talk to Miss Nicole, yeah? Are you ok Tony?"

Tony shook his head. No he wasn't ok. He was scared and his leg hurt and his arm really hurt where his mean-daddy had grabbed it. Jethro hugged him again and ran a soothing hand over his child's back. He wasn't surprised when Tony suddenly began to heave. Jethro set him down and Miss Nicole put a trashcan in front of them. Tony emptied the contents of his stomach into it. A moment later his eyes rounded with fear again when he realized he'd wet himself _at school._

"It's ok Tony," Jethro said, rubbing his back soothingly. "You're ok, you're safe. We've got you. I'm not gonna let that man hurt you. It's alright. Shhhh just try to relax," Jethro murmured into Tony's ear.

"I-I-I's s-s-sorrrrry," Tony whispered, eyes on the floor. He suddenly dropped to his knees and put his face in his hands.

Jethro scooped him back up and hugged him. "Ohhhh no, you don't get away that easy," he said with a gentle smile. "Look up here and talk to me," Jethro directed gently.

Tony's green eyes met Jethro's blue ones and they stared at each other for a while before Tony dropped his gaze. "M-My l-leg," he said softly.

"Did he hurt your leg again?"

"N-no, j-jus' a cause we's was goin' s-soo f-fast," Tony said softly and Jethro noticed that he was still trembling. Even Tony's voice was shaking.

Jethro quickly unfastened the long brace on Tony's leg and began rubbing it gently over his jeans. "Anything else hurt?"

It was a long moment before Tony nodded slowly. "M-m-my m-mean-d-daddy hurted my arm too," Tony said softly.

"He had a pretty tight grip on it," Nicole said softly. She helped Tony slip his arm out of the sleeve of his long sleeve t-shirt and she and Jethro both gasped at the horrible bruise. "I'll go get him an ice pack," she said softly, slipping away.

Jethro looked at his boy and gave thanks that Tony had a teacher who was paying attention. It would have been easy for Senior to have taken Tony otherwise. When Nicole came back she told Jethro what had taken place on the playground.

"I've got you now," Jethro said. "Your mean old daddy can't have you back, no matter how hard he tries." Jethro wanted more than anything to promise that Tony would never have to go back to his father…but knowing what he knew about the system, he wasn't willing to bet money on that.

Two of the MPs came back in. "We need to collect information and statements," one of the officers said. He looked at Gibbs and Tony. "And I'm assuming you're the boy's father?"

"Guardian. His father abandoned him," Jethro said quietly. "And abused him."

The MP nodded and began taking notes. "I'll need to get your contact information, as well as your statement," he said.

Jethro nodded. "I don't know a lot—only what I was told happened and what I've observed since I got here."

The MP watched Tony for a moment, taking in the trembling, the tears, and the bruise on his uncovered arm. "Should I call him an ambulance?"

Tony squealed in fear and nearly shot off Jethro's lap. "No," Gibbs said quietly. "My wife is a pediatric nurse. I'll take him to her first. If she says he needs the hospital we'll go from there," he said. He readjusted Tony so that the child was sitting with his head resting on Jethro's chest. He ran a hand absently up and down Tony's ribcage, pleased that now there was some meat on the bones there.

As the grownups began discussing what had happened and what was going to happen, Tony sat still on Jethro's lap. Jethro had him. He was safe. He was tired though, and his arm and leg hurt. He closed his eyes, and it didn't take him very long to fall asleep.

xxx

Jethro gently tucked Tony into the car seat and strapped his sleeping child in. Tony stirred only a bit and blinked sleepily up at Jethro for a moment before closing his eyes again. Gibbs ran a hand over the child's forehead and then gently checked his pulse. He was clammy and his heartbeat was racing. He was in shock. Gibbs shook Tony's shoulder gently.

"Buddy? Stay awake Tony. We're going home. Mommy's going to meet us there ok? She's gonna take a look at you and make sure you're ok. I need you to stay awake until she checks you out though, ok?"

Tony's eyes fluttered open sluggishly and made it to about half mast before they slid shut again. Couldn't Jethro understand that he was tired? He only wanted a short nap. Jethro shook him again. "Wake up Tony," he said a bit more firmly. Tony blinked his eyes open.

"Attaboy," Gibbs said softly. "I know it's hard and I know you're sleepy, but try to stay awake ok? Tell me what you played with this morning in centers." Seeing that Tony was now focusing on what he'd done earlier, and becoming more alert, Gibbs quickly got into the car.

"I's p-played with b-bocks," Tony said softly. "I's builded a b-big h-house!"

Gibbs engaged Tony in the conversation about his block house as he tore through the streets towards base housing. He'd called Shannon from the center and told her to meet him at home, that it was an emergency. Shannon was in the driveway when Jethro and Tony arrived home. The hospital where she worked was just across the street from the base; it didn't take long to get home.

"Jethro? Are you alright? What's—ohmygod what happened to Tony?" She quickly took in his pale features, the way he held his arm and leg so carefully and the way he trembled. "Jethro what's happened?"

"Let's get him inside and I'll tell you all about it," Jethro said in a low voice. "Try to stay calm though," he warned Shannon. "Tony's pretty upset." Jethro opened the back door and quickly got Tony out of the car and carried him inside. They quickly got his clothes changed and soon he and Jethro were parked on the couch.

Shannon checked Tony over gently and talked softly to him. She was concerned that he was so traumatized and made a note to contact Anne and let her know that she needed to get some sort of restraining order or something in place for Tony regarding Senior because it was so traumatizing for him to see his father. Shannon had known since the first day they'd had Tony that it had been awful for Tony living with his father, but it wasn't until now, until seeing Tony in this pitiful, wrecked state, that she truly understood the horror of the abusive environment he'd been in—she hadn't understood just why or how much it relieved Tony to be staying with her and Jethro.

Tony refused to let go of Jethro, so Shannon tucked a blanket over both of them and turned on the Toy Story movie. Tony's thumb drifted toward his mouth, but it looked like he was at battle with himself as to whether or not he should suck on it. Jethro ran a hand over Tony's hair and kissed his forehead. "You're safe bud, you're safe. He's not going to hurt you anymore."

Shannon called Jethro's shop and told them what was going on. Jethro's boss told him that he would see him on the day after Christmas—Jethro was taking leave starting December 22 because all of the grandparents were coming into town from back East and Jethro wanted to be sure to be around to help keep Tony calm in the face of all the strangers who were now his family.

"I'm not going back to work today," Jethro murmured softly to Tony. Tony merely clutched Jethro's shirt tighter and snuggled in more. "Hey Shannon," he called.

A moment later she appeared. "Yeah?"

"Would you mind to sit here with Tony for just a second so I can go change," he said. Jethro carefully extricated himself from underneath Tony and stood up. Tony leapt off the couch and clutched Jethro's leg. "Let go buddy," Jethro said. "I'm gonna go put on my comfy clothes and I'll be right back. I'm not leaving ok?"

Tony looked unsure of whether or not to believe Jethro. Jethro smiled gently at Tony then looked sadly at his wife. "Here Tony," he said, pulling his keys out of his pocket. "These are the keys to my car," he said. "You hold them. I have to have the keys to leave, so if you have them I can't leave, ok?"

Tony stared at the keys in his hand and nodded. "I'm gonna go change clothes. I'll be right back, in just a minute ok? Mommy's gonna sit here with you while I change."

Tony looked at Shannon who smiled and he nodded again. Shannon sat on the couch with him and Jethro ran up the stairs. Tony snuggled in on Shannon's lap and buried his face against her breast. He clutched the keys tightly. "I's sorry," he whispered.

Shannon kissed the top of Tony's head and lightly scratched up and down his back. "Nothing to be sorry for Angel," she whispered. "You've done nothing wrong."

"I's didn't yell or scream or nothin when my mean-daddy was trying a take me 'way," Tony said. "I's too scareded."

"That was a good reason to be scared," Shannon told him. "You aren't in trouble. You've done nothing wrong. We're just so glad you are safe. We love you Tony. We love you so much."

Tony snuggled in a little more and yawned. "I's loves you too," he murmured.

Jethro came back down the stairs quietly, smiling softly when he saw Shannon sitting on the couch, gently rocking back and forth with the tiny child on her lap. She nodded to him that she was alright, and he smiled at her again. Then he turned and went to the coffee pot. As he watched it brew, he began to plot his revenge.

No one hurt his son and got away with it. There _would _be hell to pay.

TBC


	5. Christmas1

**Author's Note:** _*Typing like this is sign language!*_

**Daddy's Boy  
>Chapter 5: Christmas-1<strong>

The night after DiNozzo Senior showed up at Tony's school and tried to take him, Kelly was the only one who got any sleep. Tony's little leg cramped and ached, despite the medicine that Shannon had given him to help it. In the early predawn morning hours, Shannon broke down and took the brace off, letting his leg rest a bit without the restricting brace on it. She rubbed it and carefully massaged it, trying to ease away the pain. Tony's arm was also bruised and slightly swollen where his father had grabbed him so roughly.

The small little boy was also plagued by nightmares. Every time he'd close his eyes, hellish images of his mean daddy—only bigger and stronger, with mean, glowing red eyes and claws—would fill his mind's eye, leaving Tony shaking, crying and screaming. He wet the bed four different times that night, much to his horror.

Jethro wasn't sleeping any better than Tony. A few times he managed to doze off in between Tony's nightmares, only to have bête noirs of his own that left him gasping and clutching the sheets as he jerked awake. Eventually he gave up on sleep, choosing instead to sit in Tony's room, in the old rocker, close by in case Tony needed him.

Close by in case he needed to check on Tony for himself.

Like her boys, Shannon was also sleepless that night. She frequently checked on Jethro and Tony, trying to ensure that any sleep they managed to get was peaceful and pain-free. Knowing she wouldn't be getting any sleep for the rest of the night, Shannon used the time productively. She emailed Anne Joseph sometime around 3am, begging the woman to do anything in her ability to keep Senior away from Tony.

Shannon had dubbed Tony's father as "Senior" so she could mention him to Jethro, in ear shot of Tony (as long as they were careful), without it being so traumatizing to Tony, and without referring to that bastard as Tony's father. Jethro was Tony's daddy now; it was only a matter of time before they could make it permanent with adoption. For now, Shannon and Jethro were Tony's permanent legal guardians until Tony turned 18.

Shannon worked hard, making sure that their modest sized base housing home would have room for all of them with their visitors. Jethro had suggested fixing up Tony's room for Shannon's mother to use, but Shannon refused. "She can share a room with Kelly," Shannon said. "Or she can stay in a hotel if she prefers. I'm not going to force Tony out of his room." They planned for Jack to sleep on the couch in the living room. He'd done it before, when their home had been much smaller before Kelly was born. He wouldn't mind.

Jethro's father and Shannon's mother would both be arriving that day, within a couple of hours of each other. Jethro and Shannon had decided it would be easier to divide and conquer to pick them up, rather than make everyone wait at the airport for the second plane to arrive, or try to hurry back and forth between the airport and the house twice. Shannon and Kelly would go get JoAnne and Jethro would take Tony to go pick up Jack. They'd each told their parents about getting their foster care license, and before they'd gotten Tony had mentioned that they hoped to get a child soon. Jack had commended the couple on their bravery and joyfully expressed his admiration and pride in them. JoAnne had merely sniffed and changed the subject.

Shannon was nervous to see how the holiday would go with Tony and his new grandparents. She wasn't concerned about him meeting Jack. The 50-something year old man would undoubtedly take Tony into his family without hesitation and shower the boy with love and affection. JoAnne though…tended to be very opinionated, especially on matters concerning "her" family. She'd made it very plain early on that "her family" did not include Jethro. Shannon wondered how her mother would react to Tony; if she would welcome him into the family as she'd done Kelly, or if he would be excluded like Jethro. She figured that JoAnne would be nice, but not overly so; and pleasant but not affectionate towards both Jethro and Tony. After all, JoAnne had been an only-child. Shannon was an only-child. It was simply expected that Kelly would be an only-child as well.

Just before the sun rose, Shannon peeked in on Jethro and Tony again. Jethro was lying on his side in Tony's bed, and Tony was snuggled in close to Jethro, tucked in close to his daddy's chest, his head right under Jethro's chin. Shannon smiled and started to close the door back when Jethro opened his eyes and smiled at her. He didn't move anything other than his eyes. Tony was finally, finally sleeping peacefully, and neither parent wanted to wake their boy. Jethro motioned with his eyes for Shannon to sit in the old rocker that still lived in Tony's room (and got a lot of use). With only the nightlights and the predawn morning for illumination, Shannon raised her hands and began to sign.

_*He looks like he's finally resting.*_

This was an old game they'd played when Kelly was a baby. Blinks and signs to communicate. It brought back sweet memories. Jethro blinked once. Yes, Tony was finally resting.

_*Has he been asleep very long?*_

This time Jethro blinked twice. Not long at all. Hence the reason he was so reluctant to move. He was almost scared to even breathe hard for fear of waking him up.

Shannon sighed softly and then raised her hands again. *_Worried about grandparents visiting…*_

Jethro raised one eyebrow, an unspoken "Why?" on his face.

Shannon shook her head slightly. *_Not your dad_,* she signed. *_My mother.*_

Jethro huffed out an almost silent laugh and blinked once then rolled his eyes. Shannon smiled and nodded, agreeing completely. Both of them knew that JoAnne could be a bit of a drama queen when she thought things weren't going as they should.

_*Worried Mom will act different between Kelly and Tony. Tony's so sensitive and insecure…I don't think he'd handle that well.*_

Jethro blinked once then narrowed his eyes. Really, there shouldn't be anything to handle.

Shannon nodded her agreement and raised her hands again. _*Emailed Anne J to see about restraining order.*_

Jethro smiled and blinked once. Good job. He was glad one of them had finally gotten it done—they simply hadn't had time the day before with Tony so traumatized. It had taken both of them and Kelly to finally get him mostly calmed back down.

Shannon took a deep breath and sighed. _*I'm scared that someone will take him away.*_

Jethro frowned and firmly blinked twice. _No one_ would take Tony away. Not again. Not after last time. Tony was _theirs_.

_*What if his father fights us on this?*_

Jethro frowned deeper, blinked twice and shook his head slightly. He wouldn't let that happen.

Shannon nodded in agreement, and both froze when Tony suddenly stirred. He rubbed his face back and forth against Jethro's t-shirt covered chest several times before resettling. Shannon smiled sadly.

_*I just don't want him hurt anymore.*_

Jethro blinked once. Agreed. Then he yawned.

Shannon smiled._ *Sleep my love. You both need some rest.*_

Jethro smiled and blinked…and his eyes remained shut. His breathing was deep and even. Just like a typical marine, Jethro could go from awake to asleep as quickly as you could flip a light switch. Shannon stood up, smoothed the covers over her boys, tucked them both in carefully, and shut the door silently on her way out.

xxx

JoAnne Fielding stepped off the plane and sniffed. She wrinkled her nose prettily at the scent of the smoggy Southern California air. She'd never get the smell out of her hair and clothes. Sighing in disdain, but excited to see her daughter and granddaughter, she collected her luggage and headed for the gate.

"GRANDMA!" JoAnne smiled when she heard her beloved Kelly. Her eyes lit up when she saw the darling child—getting so tall!—her dark auburn hair in braided pigtails. She was a beautiful little girl, just as her mother had been.

"Hi Grandma!" Kelly said, all hugs and smiles. Then she grabbed her grandmother's hand and began to pull her. "C'mon we gotta go, we gotta hurry! You've gotta meet Tony!"

JoAnne narrowed her eyes slightly. "Who is Tony, dear?" She wondered if Kelly had an imaginary friend.

Kelly beamed. "He's my new brother," she stated matter-of-factly.

JoAnne gasped and her jaw dropped. She stared at Kelly, clueless about what to say. JoAnne raised wide eyes to her daughter who smiled.

"Hello Mother," Shannon said. "I see Kelly told you about Little Tony," she said, giving her mother a hug.

JoAnne was not smiling. "We'll be discussing this later," she hissed into her daughter's ear, so Kelly couldn't hear.

Shannon grabbed her mother's arm as she started to move away, her green eyes bright and flashing with anger. "Ohhhh no, we'll discuss it right now," she growled at her mother. "You will be respectful, and pleasant, and nice, to both Jethro and Tony," she said softly. Despite the low volume, the threatening tone of Shannon's voice was not missed. "This child is coming out of an abusive home. He was abandoned by his father. His mother is dead, and he deserves to have a happy Christmas surrounded by his new, loving family. He's very insecure and I will not see him hurt physically or emotionally anymore, most especially by people in his family. Are we clear?"

JoAnne's expression remained neutral and she did not respond. Shannon narrowed her eyes and took a step closer. "I said. Are. We. Clear? If you have a problem with it you can go get right back on that plane right now and go home. This will be a happy Christmas. Tony will enjoy it. He has a new family and he deserves to enjoy this holiday properly. You can be a part of that," Shannon said. "Or you can leave. The choice is yours."

JoAnne was a bit shocked at her daughter's ferocity. "I understand," she said coolly, shifting uneasily. Shannon nodded and backed up a bit, smiling down at Kelly who was trying to understand what Grandma did to make Mommy so angry. "I have a question," JoAnne said.

Shannon raised an eyebrow.

JoAnne smirked. "Is this permanent or do you plan to give him back?"

Fighting down the urge to slap her mother across the face, Shannon squared her shoulders and took out a deep breath. "He's our foster child mother. Until he's grown. We can only hope that we will be lucky enough to make him a Gibbs permanently by adopting him. So you might as well get used to the idea."

Without another word, Shannon and Kelly turned around and walked away. JoAnne followed behind, struggling with all of her luggage by herself.

xxx

Jackson Gibbs let out a sigh of relief as he felt the landing gear hit the pavement. It didn't matter how old he got or how many flights he took. He hated it. He wished Leroy, Shannon and Kelly would move closer to Pennsylvania so he could just drive to visit them. Besides hating flying, Jackson had another reason for wanting to get off the plane as soon as possible. Well, four reasons. Leroy, Shannon and Kelly were the obvious three reasons, but that morning on the phone, his son had given him yet another reason. Leroy said there was someone very important that he needed to meet.

Jackson had been thrilled when he heard that Shannon and Leroy had gotten their foster care license. After Kelly was born, Shannon's doctor told them they'd not be able to have more children. He knew that Leroy wanted a boy, a son of his own. Jackson understood that bond. He understood it the first moment he ever laid eyes on the ice-blue eyed infant, and he knew it now as he thought of his baby boy having children of his own. Yes, Jackson was excited to see who Leroy wanted him to meet.

He quickly left the plane and gathered his bags. Leroy told him that he'd meet him at the gate. He glanced around, but the airport was crowded and he didn't see his son anywhere. His gaze stopped for a moment on a man, standing across the terminal, near the windows. He was holding a small boy in his arm, and they were smiling as the man pointed out airplanes to the child. He smiled when he saw the man's profile, and suddenly the man turned and threw an arm up, his face splitting into a huge smile. The man murmured something to the little boy who smiled, then shook his head, then buried his face into Leroy's neck.

Jackson smiled. This was going to be a great Christmas.

xxx

Jethro and Tony had gotten to the airport a little bit early. Tony's leg was still hurting, so Jethro carried him through the airport without hesitation. They stopped at a window, near the gate where his father would be arriving, and Jethro pointed. "Look Tony," he said softly. "Look at all those biiiiiiiig airplanes!"

Tony's eyes widened when he saw them. "How them's gonna fly?"

Jethro smiled. "They have big engines that make them go super fast so they can fly," he said, his eyes wide and dancing.

Tony giggled at his Jethro. He was so silly sometimes.

"Hey look over there," Jethro said softly, "there's Grandpa getting off the plane." Tony smiled.

"Wanna go meet him?"

Tony's eyes flashed with fear, and, suddenly bashful, he buried his face into the side of Jethro's neck.

"Dad!" Jethro suddenly called, waving his arm at his father, "Dad over here!" Tony flinched at Jethro's sudden loud voice, and he whimpered softly. "It's ok Tony," Jethro said softly. "No need to be scared."

Tony lifted his head slowly, his eyes filled with fear. "You's mad?"

Jethro shook his head. "Nope. There's lots of people here though, so I needed to talk loud to make sure Grandpa could find us. That's all."

Tony was better today, but still very nervous and panicky after the events of the day before. Damn his father.

"I think you'll like Grandpa," Jethro continued as they started towards the gate. "He's my daddy. He's very nice."

Tony's eyes rounded. "You's have a daddy, Jethro?"

Jethro chuckled and nodded. "Sure do."

Tony shook his head, confused. "B-But you's old!"

Jethro threw back his head and laughed. "Oh Tony just because someone grows up doesn't mean they don't have their parents anymore."

Tony's little shoulders dropped and his little chin bowed to his chest. "I's a don't have no parents."

Jethro hugged him tightly. "Sure ya do, Kiddo," he said. "You have a brand new family, remember? Me and Mommy, Kelly, Grandpa here, and Grandma too. You'll see her when we get home. They're going to stay with us during Christmas."

A thought struck Tony. He'd carefully counted the beds one day, trying to work out his place in the house. There was Kelly's bed. Jethro and Shannon shared a bed. And Tony had a bed. Three beds. But if Grandma and Grandpa were coming…he looked at Jethro. "I's a gonna sleep outside?"

Jethro narrowed his eyes slightly. "No of course not, son," he said. "Why would you think that? The only time you'll ever have to sleep outside is if you're camping."

"They's not enough beds!" Tony exclaimed, his arms thrown wide, as he rode in his father's embrace. "Grandma and Grandpa gonna sleep?"

"Sure they're going to sleep. Grandpa is going to sleep on the couch, and Grandma is going to have a slumber party with Kelly in her room. You'll sleep in your bed and Mommy and I will sleep in our bed."

Before Tony could respond, Jackson finally approached. "HELLO LEROY!" His voice was very loud, but he didn't seem mad. In fact, Tony thought he looked very happy. Like he was smiling with his eyes.

"Hi Dad," Jethro said, giving his father a one-armed hug.

Jackson smiled. "And who is this handsome little guy?" He tweaked Tony's shoe gently, and Tony eyed him with wonder, trying to understand how he was supposed to react. He was always confused when he was touched by grownups and it didn't hurt. Except Jethro and Shannon. They never hurt him.

Jethro smiled and squeezed Tony a little tighter. "Dad this is Tony. Tony, this is your new Grandpa. He's my daddy."

Tony felt the corner of his mouth turn up slightly into the tiniest of smiles. "You's a nice daddy to Jethro?"

Jackson found the question a bit odd. He looked at Jethro for a brief second and then smiled at Tony and nodded. "I try to always be very nice to Jethro, and Shannon, and Kelly. I'm so excited to meet you."

Jackson had noticed the way Tony tensed when he'd spoken loudly earlier, so he made an effort to lower the volume of his voice a bit. The last thing he wanted to do was scare this…this beautiful, wounded, wrecked little boy. He raised an eyebrow at Jethro who shook his head slightly. Not here. Not now. Understood.

Tony though, smiled. He reached out a very slow, very timid hand, and he patted Jackson very lightly on the shoulder. "You's can have my room," he said softly. He turned to Jethro and smiled wider. "I's like him. I's a sleep outside so's Grandpa can haves my room."

Jethro closed his eyes for a moment and when he reopened them they were shiny with unshed tears. Jackson's mouth hung open in a mix of shock and horror, and Jethro hugged Tony close. "You're not sleeping outside Tony," he said firmly, but gently. "I will never make you sleep outside. Ever."

Tony looked confused. "'s hows it a-pposed a work though! My mean-daddy h-haved people comed and stayed and I's sleeped outside cause I's a bother."

Jethro just hugged his boy again. "You are not a bother," he murmured. "You are absolutely not a bother. We want you with us. We love you. You are not a bother."

Jackson looked at Jethro with concern but Jethro shook his head. "C'mon Dad," he said. "Let's go home and figure out where everybody's going to sleep so Tony knows he's not sleeping outside."

As they headed for the parking lot, Jackson thought maybe this would be the most interesting, exciting Christmas he'd ever seen.

He hoped to God Shannon's mother would be nice.

TBC…


	6. Christmas2

**Author's Note: **Grandma Warning…  
>Thanks to GotGoats for your wonderful amazing help! Much love!<p>

**Daddy's Boy  
>Chapter 6—Christmas 2<strong>

By the time Jethro, Tony, and Jackson arrived back on base, Jethro had explained to Tony that Grandpa could sleep in the house, and so could Tony—there was room there for both of them. Jackson looked a bit shell-shocked when he realized that Tony really believed he could be so easily cast aside—and accepted and embraced it as normal behavior.

"We're working with him on it," Jethro said softly to his dad as he drove them home. "And believe me, he's getting better. When we first got him, he'd have thought we were going to send him away forever if someone had come to stay." Jackson paled and he glanced over his shoulder at the child asleep in the car seat with his head on the window.

"Jesus Leroy," Jackson whispered. "Just what kind of hell did this poor kid come out of?" Jackson stared out the window as his son drove.

"Believe me Dad," Jethro said. "You don't want to know."

Jethro pulled into the drive way and parked the SUV and got out. "You need any help?"

"Nah," Jackson told him. "I've got it. You get Tony."

Jethro nodded and opened the back door. Tony immediately stirred. He was such a light sleeper. "Jethro?" He rubbed one eye with a cupped hand.

"Hey Buddy," Jethro said gently. "Let's go inside and meet Grandma. You want to?" Tony smiled and nodded. Jethro helped him down out of the car and Tony winced when he put weight on his bad leg.

"That leg still hurting?" Jethro's voice was tinged with both concern and sympathy. Tony nodded. "Wanna try walking?" Jethro asked him. Tony nodded again. Jethro stayed close, knowing the little one's leg could give out at any moment and when it did, Tony would fall if no one was there to catch him. Tony made it three steps before his knee buckled and he started to fall. He gasped in fear of falling, but quickly realized that Jethro had caught him. Jethro smiled at him. "Wanna try again with me holding your hand?" Tony nodded. Together the three men made their way to the front steps.

Tony looked up at the steps, and then looked up at Jackson. "You's go firsts. I's slow," he told his new grandpa. Jackson looked at Jethro who nodded. Jethro knew Tony was very self-conscious about his leg. Jackson climbed the stairs and then turned around. Tony was sitting on one of the lower steps, slowly and painstakingly pushing himself up the stairs. Jethro waited at the top for him, but was ready if Tony needed him. He wanted to give Tony the chance to try though. If he needed help that was understandable, but Jethro didn't want Tony to ever give up.

The front door burst open suddenly and Kelly ran through onto the front porch. "GRANDPA!" She hugged her grandfather. Then she turned to the others. "Hi Daddy! Hi Tony! Grandpa did you get to meet Tony yet? Isn't he fun? He's my very own baby brother!" Kelly's voice was filled with pride, but Tony scowled up at her.

"I's not a baby!" he retorted.

Kelly helped Tony to his feet once he reached the top step. Kelly then plowed ahead again, shoving Jethro and Jackson out of the way as the over-excited seven year old raced into the house. Tony slowly walked about two steps and then stopped and looked up at Jethro, pain filling his features.

Jethro smiled sadly. "Come on Tony," he said, gently lifting the child. He motioned his father to go first. "Let's go inside."

xxx

JoAnne was trying to enjoy her cup of tea. She'd heard Jethro's SUV pull up and knew it was only a matter of time before Jethro and the…child would be inside, along with that ignorant oaf, Jackson.

The front door slammed and JoAnne winced. "Kelly don't slam the door," Shannon called as her excited daughter tore through the house.

A moment later, Jackson came in the kitchen, followed by Jethro who had a small boy in his arms. JoAnne looked on with very little interest. The child couldn't be more than two or three years old, based on his size. She sniffed with disgust. A messy little boy child was exactly what Shannon did _not_ need. Jethro sat Tony on a barstool and walked to the cabinet where they kept his medicine. Jackson sat beside Tony.

"Good afternoon JoAnne," Jackson said politely. He didn't like this woman. Never had.

JoAnne forced a small smile that looked more like a grimace. "Hello," she said softly. She watched as Jethro filled a syringe with some sort of red colored medicine. Tony was silent, pale and shaking on the stool where he sat. JoAnne felt slightly ill watching this child. Certainly she could not deny the child's obvious need for nourishment and affection, but she didn't understand why Jethro and Shannon thought this boy was their responsibility.

Jethro brought the syringe over to Tony and JoAnne watched as he helped the child put it in his mouth and Jethro ran a loving, affectionate hand down the back of the child's head as he greedily sucked the relief-giving elixir (cherry flavored of course!) down without any discussion or argument. Once they were finished, Jethro rinsed the syringe and then leaned against the bar, close in case Tony needed some reassurance.

"Is this the child?" JoAnne asked.

Tony closed his eyes, trying not to flinch. He didn't like this woman's tone.

Jethro nodded. "Yes," he said simply. "This is Tony. Tony this is—"

"You may call me JoAnne," the older woman said, cutting Jethro off before he could introduce her as Grandma.

Jethro's eyes narrowed slightly but he did not comment. He wouldn't say a word in front of Tony. And he respected Shannon enough to not disrespect her mother.

"Hi," Tony said in a very small voice. His hands were folded neatly in his lap and his back was stick-straight with perfect posture. Tony easily picked up on the tension between Jethro and JoAnne. He didn't know that this behavior between them was not anything new and had been going on since Jethro and Shannon had been together. Tony was sure that he'd done something that was causing both Jethro and JoAnne to be unhappy.

"Honestly Jethro, I'm a little put out," JoAnne said crisply.

Jethro narrowed his eyes again, just as Shannon entered the kitchen. She dropped a kiss on Tony, Jethro and Jackson's heads and turned to her mother. She quickly saw the tension in the room. "What's going on here?" Shannon's hands rose to her hips.

Jethro looked evenly at JoAnne. "Don't know yet," he grumbled. "JoAnne was just telling me that she's put out over something. I'm anxious to hear what it is we've done now."

Tony's eyes widened slightly. There was a…nastiness, a haughtiness in Jethro's tone that Tony hadn't ever heard before. Jethro must be really angry—his eyes were even dark.

Shannon turned to her mother and crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. "Do tell," she said. There was a threatening tone in her voice. Tony flinched at it, but Jethro's eyes shown with pride. He loved that his beautiful wife was not afraid of anything when it came to her family. She would protect them with every breath she had.

JoAnne smiled. "Well I _usually_ sleep in the guest room," she said. "But I can easily see that there is no room for me there."

The other adults in the room stared at her in shock. Tony slid off the barstool and winced in pain. The grownups were all so caught up in their conversation and reaction that they didn't even notice when Tony moved almost silently out of the room.

Tony could have kicked himself. He should have known. He should have known that this wouldn't work out. He should have known he'd screw this up somehow and that he was stupid to trust anyone. He was better on the streets where no one knew him and no one cared. He'd find food, he'd find something to sleep under and he'd survive. He had to get out of here.

xxx

A few moments after Tony left the room Jethro broke his stare and glanced around. He swore softly when he realized Tony had left the room. "I'm going to go get Tony," he snapped. He looked at Shannon who looked as angry as he felt, but there was also concern in her gaze. She was worried about Tony as well. Jethro let out a long breath. "Explain this to your mother please."

Jethro stomped out of the kitchen with Jackson following him close behind.

Shannon stepped up to the table where her mother still sat, calmly sipping her tea just as if nothing had happened. Planting her hands firmly on the table, Shannon leaned right up into her mother's space. "I'll give you a choice," she said. Her voice was just barely audible, a sign that she was absolutely furious. "I will either take you to a hotel or take you to the airport. You are not welcome to sleep in _my _house with _my _family."

JoAnne blinked. "Shannon. Dear, let's be reasonable. That…_boy_ is—"

"Is _our son,_" Shannon snapped. "And you will treat him _exactly_ as you treat Kelly or you _will _leave."

JoAnne took another calm sip of tea. Shannon was so dramatic sometimes. "I did not fly all the way out here to be tossed aside for some little half-bred bastard who—"

Shannon reached out and slapped her mother's face before she could catch herself. "Get out of my house. Get your shit and get the hell out of here." Shannon picked up the phone. "I'll call you a cab. You are not welcome here. I don't even want to look at you."

xxx

Jethro's heart broke a little when he and Jackson entered the living room and he could see Tony tugging and pulling desperately on the door trying to get it to open. He thanked God that he'd had the forethought to install a high lock on the door and that he'd thought to lock it when they came in. It was the only thing that had stopped Tony's escape.

Jethro stopped several paces back from the boy. "Tony?" He heard his littlest sniffle and he cursed his mother-in-law. "Tony c'mere buddy," Jethro cooed quietly. He could hear Shannon's voice but couldn't make out what was being said. Right now he needed to focus on Tony.

Tony had stopped tugging so desperately on the door and was now clinging to it in an effort to stay upright, his face buried in the back of his hands and crying softly. Jethro took another couple of steps closer to him. "Tony? Tony come here," Jethro said softly. He felt so helpless. He hated that Tony felt this way.

Jethro hooked his hands under Tony's arms and lifted him gently. Tony began to struggle, whimpering and thrashing, trying desperately to get away from the loving embrace Jethro was folding him in. Jethro carefully turned Tony around and Tony kicked out again and this time made contact—he kicked Jethro's leg, but cried in pain because he'd kicked him with his bad leg. Tony buried his head against Jethro's shoulder, sobbing. How could they love him? How could they actually want him? Simple answer: They didn't.

"N-noo J-Jethroo," Tony sniffled. "No! Leaves me 'lone! You's don't need a have me. You's don't want me," he whimpered. "No's one wants me. No's one loves me. I's bad."

Jethro hugged Tony tighter and kissed his cheek. "No Tony I love you. I want you. We love you. Mommy and I love you. So does Kelly. So does Grandpa. We love having you. We are so happy that you're with us. Shhhh don't cry…shhhh it's ok. I've got you…shhhh…you're safe with me. Shhhh…"

There was a quiet gasp behind them. Jethro turned and saw JoAnne standing in the doorway with Shannon behind her. Shannon's face was red with anger. Jethro turned and walked up the stairs without a word. Tony clung desperately to him and Jackson followed. Jethro would not let that…that _woman_ hurt his child again.

They ran into Kelly on the stairs. She'd heard Tony crying and was coming to see if he was ok. Seeing that he was upset, and that Mommy and Daddy looked really mad, she thought maybe Tony had done something. But Daddy was still rubbing Tony's back. He didn't rub backs when he was mad at you. So they must be mad at someone else. Grandpa looked kind of mad too, so that only left Grandma. And if Tony was crying and everyone was mad at Grandma, then Grandma must have done something to Tony.

"Look what you've done," Shannon hissed in her mother's ear as Jethro and Tony climbed the stairs and Kelly came down them. "What has this precious, innocent little boy done to you? Why did he deserve that? I told you how insecure he was—and you took advantage of that!"

"I…I'm sorry," JoAnne murmured. She hadn't expected her behavior to impact the boy so much. She'd also underestimated Shannon's threat at the airport.

"Too little too late," Shannon growled. "Go get your bags Mother. The taxi will be here in a moment to take you to wherever the hell you want to go as long as you aren't here."

On the stairs, Tony's eyes widened with fear at Shannon's words. "No," he whimpered. "No don'ts be means a JoAnne," Tony pleaded from Shannon's shoulder. Everyone froze and stared at Tony.

"Tony, Sweetheart, she cannot stay here if she can't be nice to everyone," Shannon said gently.

"NO! JoAnne haves to stays!" Tony was insistent. "Kelly a be mad if Grandma leaves!" Oh this was horrible he was ruining Christmas all around.

Kelly stepped up to her grandmother and crossed her arms, glaring at the older woman. "Grandma you can't sleep in my room if you're mean to Tony," Kelly said. She didn't like that Tony was so upset. "Tony's my brother. You have to like him," she continued. "It's the rules!"

Outside a car horn beeped. "You know the way out," Jethro said, hugging Tony. "My children will not be exposed to this sort of hatred. Not in their own home. Not on Christmas. Get out." He turned and walked to Tony's room without another word. Jackson followed him and a moment later the bedroom door slammed shut.

JoAnne quickly collected her things and stopped at the door. "Merry Christmas," she said softly. Then she was gone.

As soon as she was gone, Shannon and Kelly raced up the stairs to Tony's room. Shannon opened the door softly and her heart broke at the scene in front of her. Jethro was laying on the bed with Tony who was sobbing brokenly into his chest and apologizing—"I's broked Christmas! I's sorry!"—over and over. Jethro was rubbing Tony's back and pressing his cheek to the top of Tony's head and promising him that this was not his fault and that he hadn't done anything wrong. Jackson sat on the edge of the bed, a gentle hand resting on Tony's ankle.

Kelly leapt onto the bed and snuggled up close to Tony, hugging him gently. "You're the best present I ever got," Kelly said to Tony softly. "You can always be my brother. I always want you."

Tony looked up from Jethro's chest and sniffled a couple of times. Shannon laid down on the bed behind Kelly and reached over her to rub Tony's arm gently. "We love you Sweetie-pie," she cooed softly. "All of us—we're your family now baby and we love you so much. We are so glad we have you."

The family stayed that way for a long time.

xxx

Things were quiet, peaceful, and joyful after that. It took some time for Tony to calm down again. He was still nervous and uneasy after he woke up from a nap that afternoon. But after dinner, Jackson invited Tony into his lap and as they sat in the big armchair together, Kelly laying on the floor at his feet, face cupped in her hands staring up at them, Jackson began to tell stories. Grandpa's stories were new to Tony because he didn't need a book to tell them. Tony liked that.

Jethro started into the living room after finishing the dishes to tell Kelly that it was bath time, but he froze in the doorway, his jaw dropping. His heart pounded with both surprise and relief at what he saw. Jackson's voice could be heard softly in the otherwise quiet and darkened room. The only illumination came from the multicolored Christmas tree in front of the window. Kelly was sprawled on the floor on her stomach, staring up at Jack, hanging onto his every word—still for the first time all day. Tony was sitting sideways in Jackson's lap. His bad leg was propped carefully over Jackson's lap and the arm of the chair. One hand dangled limply at his side, the other's thumb was tucked securely in Tony's mouth. His little head was on Jackson's shoulder and he was staring at the Christmas tree. Jackson gently rubbed Tony's leg as he spoke.

Smiling softly, Jethro silently stepped back to the kitchen where he grabbed both Shannon and the camera. Shannon smiled when she saw the peaceful, happy scene in front of her and she let out a soft sigh of relief. Jethro snapped a picture then wrapped an arm around Shannon's shoulders.

"I love you Mrs. Gibbs," he whispered, kissing her cheek softly.

Shannon wrapped her arms around him and kissed him back softly. "I love you too," she whispered. "I'm sorry about mother."

Gibbs shook his head. "Rule number six," he stated. "It wasn't your fault. Don't apologize."

Shannon hugged a little tighter. "I know," she murmured. "I just feel like I didn't protect him enough."

"You did," Jethro said. "You stopped it before it got completely out of hand."

Shannon nodded. "Jack asked me if one of us could take him to the mall tomorrow. He wants to pick up something for Tony for Christmas."

Jethro nodded and looked at his beautiful family and smiled. "We'll make it happen."

xxx

"MOMMY!" Kelly's voice was loud and panicked. All three adults came running.

"What? What is it? What's wrong?" Shannon looked around. "Where's Tony?"

"You got to help Tony Mommy!"

Now Jethro's gut clenched in fear. "What's going on Kelly?" he tried to keep the growl out of his voice, but wasn't sure he succeeded.

"Tony's hiding under his bed," Kelly said. "He's scared and says he won't come out. And we need cookies for Santa. And carrots for the reindeer! WE GOTTA HURRY! MOMMY!"

"Kelly lower your voice please," Shannon said calmly. She glanced at Jethro. "Why don't you go check on Tony? Grandpa, Kelly and I will go work on…snacks…for our…visitors." She winked and Jethro nodded, heading for the stairs.

"Tony? Buddy?" Jethro entered Tony's room quietly and got down on his hands and knees to look under the bed. "Whatcha doin' under the bed Tony?"

"I's sorry," Tony whispered. "I's maked Kelly mad at me."

Jethro wondered at the difference in their stories. "Well come on out and we'll figure everything out. We won't solve anything under the bed," he said with a wink. "We won't all fit under there."

Tony scooted right out from under the bed as Jethro instructed and all but dove into Jethro's lap, trembling.

"Hey," Jethro soothed softly, "What happened?" He gave Tony a warm little hug.

"Kelly say Santy Taws coming here," Tony said softly.

Jethro nodded. "Yep, it's Christmas Eve. Santa brings all of us presents."

"I thinked he wasn't really reals," Tony said. "M-my mean-daddy tolded me so. I tolded Kelly and she gots mad at me."

Jethro hugged Tony again, sighing softly. "Tony…Santa Claus is a very special person, but not everyone believes in him. He visits good children on Christmas Eve and brings them presents."

Tony looked at Jethro for a long moment before his face crumpled and he buried his face in Jethro's shoulder. Jethro felt the sob more than he heard it and hugged his boy. "What's wrong Tony?" He rubbed the boy's back gently.

"I-I's b-baaad," Tony wailed. "I-I's a try a b-be g-good but I-I's bad!"

Jethro hugged him a little tighter. "Tony you are not bad! You are good. You are so good! Why do you think you're bad?"

Tony pulled back and stared up at Jethro. "A cause you's said Santy Taws only c-comes a see good ch-children! Santy Taws never comed a see me a fore!" Tony began to cry again and Jethro could have headslapped himself. He had to fix this—and quickly!—before he ruined Christmas!

"Tony…son you uh, you know how your father said that Santa Claus wasn't real?"

Tony stared at him with suspicion but nodded.

"Well when your father said that Santa Claus wasn't real…it's like he built a wall so Santa couldn't get to you. Santa Claus can't go into a house where he isn't believed in. But this year is different. We all believe in Santa Claus here, so I am absolutely certain that this year, Tony, Santa Claus will absolutely come visit you. And I am sure he will bring you more toys than you can play with."

Tony rubbed his eyes and thought for a minute. "You's think?"

Jethro smiled and nodded. "I know," he said. "Trust me?"

Tony nodded.

Jethro stood up and scooped Tony up suddenly, making the little boy giggle. "Let's go check on Mommy, Grandpa and Kelly, Tony. Kelly's not mad at you. She was worried about you. She doesn't like it when you hide under the bed."

"I's sorry," Tony whispered. "I's just scareded."

"It's ok to be scared Tony. But let's try something ok?" Tony nodded. "Next time you feel scared, instead of running and hiding under the bed, come and find either me or Mommy ok? We can help you if you feel scared."

Tony thought about it for a long moment then nodded again. "Ok Jethro," he agreed softly.

xxx

Downstairs, Kelly was plastered to a window, craning her neck to see outside. "Tony!" she cried. "Come help me look for him!"

Tony looked at Jethro, puzzled. "Look for who?"

Jethro smiled. "Santa Claus, of course," he said.

Tony's eyes widened just a bit. "Why a Kelly looking at the sky? Don't Santy Taws drive a car?"

Behind them, Jackson chuckled. "Oh no Tony," he smiled. They all gathered at the living room window to look outside. "Santa Claus drives a sleigh pulled by eight reindeer."

Tony's eyes widened a bit more. This was all new to him. "What's reindeer?"

"Those things that look like goats with the big horns on their heads," Kelly told him. "They can fly!"

Flying goats with horns on their heads. That didn't sound like anything Tony wanted to watch for. He started to pull back from the window. "I's scareded," he said softly.

Jethro pulled back too and let Tony crawl up in his lap and bury his face. "It's ok Tony," he said softly, running his hand down the back of his boy's head. He kissed the top of Tony's head and rested his cheek there. "You've been scared for far too long, sweet boy," he murmured. "Tonight you just need to rest. Tomorrow is Christmas. It's a happy day. There is nothing here tonight to be afraid of. Mommy, Grandpa, Kelly and I are here with you, and you are completely safe. Just relax," he soothed.

Tony did relax a little bit, but didn't look out the window. He turned his head sideways on Jethro's chest so he could stare at Jackson and Shannon. Shannon leaned over and brushed the hair off of his forehead and kissed him there. Jackson patted his foot and tweaked his toe softly, drawing a grin out.

"Jethro?" Tony said softly, his fingers still knotted tightly into Jethro's shirt.

"Yeah Tony?"

"Can you's a tell Santy Taws something for me?"

"Sure Tony. Whatcha want?"

"Can you's a tell hims that I's don't need no presents, please?"

Jethro blinked in shock. He looked at Shannon and his dad who looked equally stunned. "Tony why don't you want any presents son?"

Tony yawned and snuggled in a little closer. "A cause I's don't needs 'em. A sides," he said. "I's already got lots of presents."

Jethro rubbed Tony's back softly. "What presents did you get?"

"I's gots a house, and I's gots a bed, and I's gots new shirts and pants, and I's gots a big Winnie A Pooh storybook, and I's gots a sister, and I's gots a Grandpa, and I's gots a Shannon and best of all I's gots a Jethro."

Shannon wiped the tears from her cheeks and a misty-eyed Jackson pulled her into a hug. Jethro wrapped an arm around Kelly and hugged his children, fighting back tears of his own. "We love you Tony," he said softly. "We're the ones who got the present."

TBC…


	7. Christmas3

**Author's Note: ** Special thanks to GotGoats for all your help. The photograph that Jethro takes of Tony in the dining room in this chapter is dedicated to AlexDN—Thanks for the idea! 

**Daddy's Boy  
>Chapter 7—Christmas 3<strong>

"OOF!" Jethro let out a loud grunt as he felt his internal organs rearranged by the sudden weight of his seven year old child landing on him.

"WAKE UP DADDY! MOMMY IT'S CHRISTMAS! WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP!"

Jethro pushed himself up on one elbow, raising a slow hand to rub his eyes wearily and tried to get them to focus. "Kelly? Jesus it's…Kelly it is three o'clock in the morning. You need to go back to bed."

Seriously? Jethro and Shannon had only been in bed for a little over an hour. There had been much to do after the children fell asleep.

"But Daaaaddy! It's Christmas morning," Kelly pouted.

Jethro sighed and picked Kelly up, flopping her on the bed between him and Shannon. "It is Christmas morning. But it's also the middle of the night and we are not getting up this early. Go back to sleep," he ordered. He punched his pillow, trying to fluff it back up and burrowed beneath the covers. He took a deep breath, let out a sleepy sigh, closed his eyes, and…a quiet whimper from down the hall reached his ears.

"That's Tony," Kelly whispered. "He's been making that sound for a while. I didn't wanna wake him up, so I left him alone."

Nice of her to not want to wake Tony up, Jethro grumbled silently as he sat up in bed once more. Shannon rolled over and opened one eye.

"Jet'ro? Where…doing?" Shannon's eyes closed again and she was almost asleep.

Jethro smiled. "Going to Tony's room. He's upset it sounds like. Keep Miss Munchkin in here with you. It's too early to be awake."

Shannon wrapped an arm around her daughter, pinning her to the bed, drawing a frustrated grumble out of their bubbly child. "Mooooooommmmmmm," Kelly groaned. "You're laying on me!"

Shannon just sighed softly and snuggled her child closer. Kelly huffed and closed her eyes. Jethro smiled, shaking his head, and left the room. He closed the door quietly behind him. As he passed the top of the steps, he glanced down and could just barely make out the figure of his father's face on the couch. He looked like he was sleeping peacefully.

Jethro stumbled sleepily down the hall to Tony's room, grateful they kept the hall light on at night. He slowly cracked open Tony's door. His gut clenched when he saw his tiny child was not in his bed where he belonged. Poking his head further into the room, he glanced around, and finally saw him—there, sitting against the closet door. He looked like he was pressing back into it as tightly as he could, and fear was all over his face.

"Tony? What're ya doin' outta bed?" Jethro ran a hand over his tired eyes and blinked, trying to get his vision to focus. God he was sleepy.

"I's scared," Tony whispered. "I hearded someone."

Jethro nodded. "It was probably Kelly that you heard. She was up making all sorts of noise just a few minutes ago. She thought it was time to wake up, but it's still early. Let's go back to bed, yeah?" Jethro yawned.

Tony shook his head. "Wasn't Kelly," he insisted.

"Maybe it was Santa," Gibbs suggested, sitting on Tony's bed. He nearly levitated when Tony suddenly screeched in fear—the same sound Gibbs had heard the night he found Tony, and the same sound he'd heard when Tony screamed for Jethro at the daycare the previous Friday after his father tried to take him away.

Tony curled impossibly tighter on himself. "He's a u-under the bed," he whispered.

Jethro let out a sigh. He had to show Tony there was nothing to be afraid of, and he had to do it quickly enough that they could still get some sleep before Kelly woke up again. From the drawn, pale features on Tony's face, the child must have not slept any. He stood up and turned on the overhead light, choosing to ignore Tony's sudden flinch as he moved back to the bed. He slowly got down on his hands and knees and looked under the bed.

"Look Tony," Jethro said softly, beckoning Tony over. He helped Tony get down to look under the bed with him. "There's nothing under here," he said gently. "It was just a nightmare kiddo," he said, sitting up and pulling the child into his lap.

"N-nooooo w-was my m-mean-daddy," Tony said softly, his voice quivering in fear.

Jethro hugged Tony. Damn DiNozzo Senior and his abuse on Tony. Jethro silently swore revenge again on the evil bastard.

"Your father isn't here, Little One," Jethro said gently. "But even if he did try to get you I wouldn't let him. I'm not going to let him hurt you ever again." It didn't matter what it took—Jethro would protect Tony from his father, even if it meant killing Senior with his own two hands.

Tony yawned and Jethro smiled. "Let's go to sleep. I'm tired, you're tired, everyone else is sleeping. What do ya say?"

Tony clung a little tighter. "Will you's stay?"

Jethro smiled and nodded. "I'll stay."

xxx

Jethro felt someone poking his arm. He tried to ignore it. Tried hard. It didn't work.

"Daddy?" Jethro kept his eyes shut.

"Daddy? You awake?" Jethro didn't move. He didn't _want_ to be awake yet. Dammit.

"Tony?" Beside Jethro, Tony stirred just a little bit, but didn't wake up.

"Tony it's Christmas morning, wake up!" Tony snored once then resettled.

There was a pause. A moment of peace. Jethro (foolishly) thought that Kelly had given up and that she was going to leave them in peace, at least until the sun rose. Suddenly she pounced the bed and landed right between Tony and Jethro.

Tony screamed in terror and Kelly froze.

"I'm sorry Tony," she said quickly, and scooted to the edge of the bed to give him some space. "I forgot you get scared! I'm so sorry I scared you!"

Jethro sat up and pulled Tony up with him. "It's ok Tony shhhh was just Kelly. Kelly it's ok baby, I know you didn't mean to scare him. Kelly's just excited about Christmas Tony. It's ok."

Shannon poked her head in the door. "I tried to hold her off as long as I could," she said with a smile. "You ok Tony?"

Tony was trembling slightly, his face pale, but he nodded. He was ok.

Kelly smiled and leaned up to hug her brother. "I'd never scare you on purpose," she said softly. "I'm so sorry."

"That's kay Kelly," Tony said with a small grin.

Kelly whooped. "HOORAY! LET'S GO OPEN PRESENTS! COME ON COME ON!" She was off the bed and down the hall before anyone could respond.

Shannon snickered and Jethro flopped back in the bed. Tony wasn't sure what he was supposed to be doing so he just stayed still. Jethro finally got up and stumbled out the door. "I need coffee," he grumbled. Shannon turned and followed him, thinking Tony was right behind them.

A few minutes later, Jethro poked his head in the door. Tony still sat on the bed where he was, hands folded in his lap, waiting for instructions. He assumed since he hadn't been invited down the stairs that it would be like at his mean-daddy's house—he would stay in his room until all of the gifts were opened and then he would be allowed to come down for breakfast. There were never any presents for Tony.

"Tony? What are ya doing? Kelly's waiting for you. Santa came."

Tony looked at his lap. "I's don't wanna be a bother," he said softly. "I's just gonna get in a way. I's don't have no presents anyhow. I's don't gets presents for Christmas cause I's bad."

Jethro came over and sat down on the bed. "You are not a bother. And you don't ever get in the way. And you are most definitely NOT bad. And you have soooooooo many presents under the tree. Come and see. They're yours Tony. Come on."

Tony looked so surprised, so hopeful, that Jethro had to stop and hug him. He helped his child to stand and then steadied him as he slowly made his way to the stairs. Tony's knee buckled suddenly and Jethro just barely managed to catch him before he tumbled down the stairs. Jethro lifted him up and carried him to the living room where Tony's eyes rounded with surprise.

Jethro set Tony down on the couch and the child stared at the room around him shocked into complete silence.

Kelly came over and grabbed his hand. "Come on silly!" she said, pulling on his arm, "help me look for our presents! Your name starts with a T so look for T's on the tags ok?"

Tony looked to Jethro and Shannon for permission. "Have at it kiddo," Jethro said. "We'll help you if you need it."

Tony stepped hesitantly towards the tree. At his mean-daddy's house he wasn't allowed to hardly be in the same room with the tree, let alone go near it. There was a large box under the tree, in brightly colored red and green paper. Tony's toe brushed against it and he froze in panic. Then he saw everyone smiling at him and wondered why. He looked down at it and there on the tag was a name that started with the letter T. Tony thought for a moment—he was the only person in the house whose name started with a T! That must be…could it be his present?

His eyes rounded and he looked up at Jethro. Jethro took a sip of coffee and nodded. "Yep. That one's yours. Open it." Jethro smiled at him.

Tony slid it back a little bit, still fearful of the tree, and sat down in front of it, staring at it in awe. His first gift. He'd never been given an actual wrapped present before. He ran a hand over it softly and smiled.

"Aren't you gonna open it?" Kelly stared in wonder at Tony. When Tony looked confused, Kelly smiled. "Like this!" She ripped the paper off the side of the box.

Tony's heart broke, even as his eyes widened and he wondered why Kelly was breaking his present. Why was she ripping it? Shannon saw Tony's confusion and spoke up. "Kelly stop. That's Tony's present. Tony do you want to take the paper off of your gift so you can see what it is?"

Tony looked confused. "I's don't know," he said softly. "I's never had a present before. What's am I's a pposed a do with it?"

Jackson sat down on the floor next to Tony. "We cover presents with the paper like this Tony, so you won't know what the present is. A present is a surprise until you open it. Opening the present means taking off the paper so you can see what it is."

"So's I'm a pposed a take off the paper?"

Shannon nodded and ruffled his hair. "That's right Sweetie. Want Kelly to show you how to do it?"

Tony nodded slowly. Shannon smiled. "Kelly rip into one of yours and show Tony how to do it."

Tony watched in shock and a little bit of horror as Kelly ruthlessly destroyed the paper covering her new Barbie doll outfit. She squealed in excitement for a moment before tossing the gift aside and turning back to Tony. "Your turn," she said, indicating the gift. "Open it."

Tony glanced around at the people watching him and felt very self-conscious. What if he did it wrong? What if he tore the box? What if he ruined his gift? He reached out a shaky hand and slowly tore a corner off the box. A flap of wrapping paper fell then, revealing writing on the box. Tony tore a bit more, being careful not to make a mess, trying to keep the paper in one piece. Surely they'd need to save it? What if he messed it up?

Jethro smiled at Shannon as they watched Tony open his first present. Shannon snapped pictures and it broke all of their hearts to know that Tony had never had one before and didn't even know what to do with one. Finally, Tony pulled the last of the paper off of the box and his eyes grew when he saw what it was.

"T-This i-is f-for me?" Tony stared at Jethro and Shannon.

Shannon's eyes filled with tears and Jethro nodded, both of them smiling. "All for you buddy," Jethro said. "Do you like it?"

Tony ran his hand over the huge box of wooden unit blocks and smiled. "I's never gots a present a fore," he said softly.

Jackson smiled and patted Tony's shoulder. "Well there's plenty more where that came from!" At Tony's questioning look Jackson pointed. "Look there, Tony. Kelly's piling up your gifts for you."

Indeed Tony's new sister was hard at work carefully putting each of Tony's gifts into a pile. To Tony, there must have been at least a hundred gifts there—but was probably closer to a dozen. Jethro and Shannon had wanted to get Tony and Kelly more gifts, but between a Marine and a Nurse's salaries, there just wasn't a ton of money. Jackson had added several gifts to each child, which made the stack of gifts for Tony even bigger.

Tony looked at Jethro, confused. "I's don't know," he said softly.

"What don't you know buddy?"

Tony looked at the gifts with uncertainty and then looked back at Jethro. "You's gots me a present," he said softly. "Why's I gots all them others?"

Jethro smiled. "Because Christmas is a special time of year and kids are supposed to get lots of presents for Christmas."

"B-But…" Tony dropped his gaze to his lap and mumbled something no one could hear.

"Speak up Sweetheart," Shannon said, "so we can hear you."

"B-But…I's gots no moneys. I didn't gets you's presents?" He picked up a small wrapped box and handed it to Shannon, then another and handed it to Jackson, and another gift he handed to Kelly and finally gave one to Jethro. "I-I's share," he said softly. "So's you's can haves presents too. You's can haves mines."

The adults stared at Tony in wonder, while Kelly handed Tony his gift back. "But that present is yours Tony," she said. "It's got a T on it." She held up a box. "This one is Daddy's. It's got a D on it." She did the same with gifts for Jackson and Shannon. "We all have presents Tony. You don't have to give us your presents. They're yours."

Tony was completely overwhelmed by the realization. He let out a shaky breath and stared around the room. "Can I's be a scused please?" When the grownups nodded, Tony got up and made his way out of the room.

Jackson turned to the young parents. "Is he alright?"

Jethro nodded and ran a hand over his face. "I think it's too much for him. He doesn't understand. He's never even had a gift before…"

"Maybe you should go check on him honey," Shannon said softly. "Make sure he's alright."

Jethro stood up and headed in the direction Tony had gone. He found him in the kitchen, snuggled into the corner of the cabinets, knees drawn up close to his chin. Jethro poured himself another cup of coffee and then opened a cabinet and got down another coffee mug. He opened another cabinet and pulled down a canister, scooped some of the contents into the cup and added some milk. He put the cup in the microwave and heated it for a minute then pulled it back out. Tony watched curiously as Jethro found a bag of marshmallows and then filled the cup to the brim with them.

"Come sit with me," Jethro said to Tony, inviting the child to join him at the table. Tony struggled to his feet and followed Jethro. He sat down in front of the cup of marshmallows. "There ya go buddy," Jethro said. "See if you like that."

"What's it?"

"It's hot chocolate Tony. It's yummy."

"Like blueberry pancakes?" Blueberry pancakes had become a Saturday morning staple.

Jethro nodded. Tony took a slow, hesitant sip. He smacked his lips loudly as the creamy warm chocolate ran down his throat and his upper lip was lightly coated in chocolate foam and marshmallow. He looked at Jethro and his eyes lit up with such delight and wonder that his new daddy couldn't help but smile and grab the camera.

"I have to take a shot of this," Jethro said, chuckling. "You look so silly—just like a chocolate monster!" Tony and Jethro both giggled at Jethro's words and Tony's appearance—they were both so silly sometimes.

A moment later though, the delight was gone, and the melancholy mood had resettled over Little Tony. Jethro folded his arms on the table and looked at his child. "Talk to me son," he said softly.

Tony took another sip of the hot cocoa and stared at the marshmallows in the cup. One especially ambitious marshmallow was trying to escape. "I's sorry," he whispered.

"I don't think you've done anything wrong," Jethro said softly.

Tony nodded emphatically. "I's left. I runned away."

"Nah, you just needed a break," Jethro said with an easy smile. "Happens to lots of people. It's ok to need a break."

"I's just…it's so…" With a frustrated groan, Tony dropped his head, thunking it softly on the table.

Jethro reached over and ran a hand over Tony's hair. "It's a lot to take in, huh," he said sympathetically.

"I's never knows what I's a pposed a do," Tony said quietly. "I's a mess. I's a bother. I's a screw up! I's…"

Jethro shushed him gently. "You're perfect because you are Tony. And you're ours and we love you just how you are. We know you haven't done a lot of this stuff before, and that's ok. We're going to help you."

Tears filled Tony's eyes and he buried his face in his little hands.

Jethro stood up and scooped Tony up then sat back down with him in his lap. "Hey shhhh, it's ok. We'll get it all figured out. It's ok Tony. We go at your pace. It's ok. Don't be upset sweet boy…shhhh…"

After a few moments of soft tears Tony sniffled and lifted his head to stare at Jethro. "It's all different," he said. "At my mean-daddy's house I always knowed a zactly what I was a pposed a be doing. I knowed I's not a pposed a go near a tree, I knowed I's not a pposed a bother Mama and m-my mean-daddy when they's opening they presents. I's a pposed a stayed in my room and I's a pposed a not be a bother." Tony shook his head. "I didn't like it. I's hated living there. I's like it here. But I's never know what I'm a pposed a do? I's don't wanna screw up no mores. I's don't want you a make me go away cause I's bad."

Jethro hugged him and kissed his temple gently. "Well first thing is we will _never_ make you go away. We love you and we will always love you and we will always want you—even if you make a mistake. Second thing is that we want you to be happy here. If you want to go open all of your presents that is totally fine. If you don't want to open another present, that's ok too. Whatever makes you happy is what we want. Christmas is supposed to be a happy time when kids have lots of fun. How can we make that happen for you?"

Tony shrugged and a light blush covered his features. "I's don't haves no presents a give a nobody. Makes me sad," Tony said softly. "I's wanna gives you something."

Jethro shook his head. "Tony you don't have to give us presents."

Tony narrowed his eyes. "I's tolded you a same thing Jethro," he pointed out softly.

Damn the kid had a point. He thought for a moment. "Tony why do you think we give presents to each other?"

Tony thought about it for a long moment. Then he shrugged.

Jethro smiled. And silently cursed the child's bio-family. "Presents are…special ways of telling people that you care about that you love them."

The impact of that statement, coupled with the knowledge that Tony had never once received a present from his biological parents was not lost on either of them.

"You's gots me a whole buncha presents," Tony said softly. He reached for his mug, and Jethro scooted it close for him.

"We sure did," Jethro said with a smile. "We got you lots of presents because we love you. And we wanted you to have those things because we think they will make you happy. And we want the people we love—YOU—to be happy."

"Can I's give presents to you's?"

Jethro nodded. "Sure you can! And you know what is even better than presents that get bought at a store?"

Tony looked at him and shook his head slightly, hanging on to his every word. Jethro smiled. "Presents that are homemade of course. They are the best!"

Tony smiled. "I's can make stuff! I's a good stuff maker!"

Jethro laughed. "Would you feel better about us giving you presents if you had a chance to make us something to give us?" It really hadn't occurred to any of them that Tony's desire to give would be stronger than his desire to receive—but Jethro figured it shouldn't have surprised them. Tony was definitely a very unique child.

Tony nodded. "If that's okays with Mo—Shannon and Kelly and Grandpa."

Jethro heard the slip—Tony nearly referred to Shannon as 'Mommy' and he smiled. "I will tell them to wait on opening presents until you are finished making us some. Then we can all have presents from everybody to open."

Tony smiled and nodded.

xxx

Kelly and Tony were sitting at the dining room table, hard at work making their gifts, giggling softly. Jethro was helping Shannon finish up breakfast and Jackson was enjoying a cup of coffee at the bar. Kelly had huffed when Jethro explained they were going to wait for Tony to make some gifts for everyone before opening presents, but she decided she'd make some gifts of her own while she waited.

Jethro glanced over at the kids at the table and smiled. Tony was hard at work with the play-doh. He was surprisingly good at manipulating the gooey clay into anything he could imagine. He thought maybe Tony would like to go visit a potter sometime and see how they make bowls and pots using the potter's wheel. Right now it looked like Tony was making tea cups out of the orange play-doh.

Next to the tea set that was currently being crafted for Kelly, was a stack of meticulously colored papers that had plastic wrap taped down to the back that had been designed for Shannon. The papers were colored in funky patterns and odd shapes—but were beautiful and decorative and incorporating the same colors that Shannon used in her kitchen. They would make excellent placemats for the dining room table.

After breakfast, Tony finished making the tea set that was complete with a teapot that had a lid you could lift off of it and handles on all the tea cups. Next he pulled out the bright neon green play-doh and began pounding it out into a flat circle. He politely asked Shannon if he could borrow Jethro's coffee cup. Shannon handed him an empty mug and Tony carefully smooshed the play-doh, working it diligently until it was the exact size of the coffee cup's base. Then he took his plastic knife and began to poke an intricate looking little pattern into the surface of the coffee cup coaster.

He was hard at work on his gift to Jackson when the doorbell rang. Everyone stopped and looked at each other, wondering who could be at the door.

"I'll get it," Kelly called running to the door. A moment later, the door creaked open and Kelly gasped. The instant the surprised sound escaped their daughter's lips, Jethro and Shannon made a run for the door. Both of them sported a silent fear that Tony's father had showed up to finish what he started at the daycare. "Mommy and Daddy told you to stay away cause you're so mean to Tony!" Kelly exclaimed, running away from the door.

Jethro and Shannon stopped short, Tony following close behind them, and they all stared in surprise at their visitor.

"Can I come in?"

TBC…


	8. Christmas4

**Author's Note:** Better late than never on this warning, but you might want tissues. Also, I know very little about California law. This is a work of FICTION. Information may not be 100% correct. 

**Daddy's Boy  
>Chapter 8—Christmas 4<strong>

Kelly stopped in front of Tony and turned to face the door, placing herself between Tony and their guest. "We don't want you here," she snapped. "You were mean to Tony and you don't need to be here!"

A hand landed on Kelly's shoulder, gently silencing her tirade. "That's enough, Baby Girl," Jethro said quietly.

Shannon stepped around all of them and right up to their visitor. "Well? What _do_ you want?"

Before anyone could say anything else, Tony scooted between Jethro and Kelly and limped right up to the woman standing at the door. "JoAnne! You's a come back!" Then he looked slightly confused. "Do I's need a go?"

"No!" "Heck no!" "Absolutely not!" "Of course not!" all rang out from Tony's other family members surrounding him. Even Jackson spoke up. JoAnne remained silent, but her heart was breaking. She'd been such an awful fool. She knelt down.

"Tony I came to tell you that I am sorry for the way I treated you," JoAnne said. She reached out a hand and laid it lightly on the boy's shoulder. It made her insides twist when she felt him flinch ever so slightly. "I don't even know you and I said some really horrible things about you. I'm so sorry. I would like a chance to get to know you better. I'd like you to call me Grandma if you want. I'm sorry if I ruined Christmas." Tears filled the older woman's eyes. She looked up at the others. "Please forgive me," she whispered.

Tony blinked in shock and his eyes glazed with tears. Why was JoAnne apologizing? Tony must have done something to make her say those things in the first place! He remembered that she was upset because he lived in the room JoAnne usually slept in. He shook his head and stared at the woman. "No," he whispered. "You's didn't do nothins wrong! I's bad! I's sleeping in your room! I's sorry!" His voice broke on the words.

JoAnne's lower lip trembled. She looked up at her daughter. "Shannon I behaved horribly and I will understand if you want me to go back home," she said. "But I got some gifts for the children, and I wanted to drop them off, and if it's alright with you, I would like to watch them open them." She turned back to Tony. "Tony, darling, you live with Shannon and Jethro now. That means that the room I used to sleep in is your room now. I want you to stay there."

Tony thought for a moment. "You's can haves a bed! I's a sleep on the floor!"

"No child," JoAnne said. "The bed is yours, as is the room. I behaved badly and made you doubt that. But you should never doubt Jethro and Shannon. They love you very much."

Tony looked up at Jethro and Shannon. "Can Grand-a-ma stay? Pleeeeeease," the child pleaded, folding his hands and placing them under his chin.

Jethro nodded but pointed a finger at JoAnne. "You get one shot," he said. "One. You screw the pooch on this one and you're gone."

Shannon chalked Tony's forgiveness up to partial fear of screwing up and partial desire of wanting to fit in. She looked at her mother. "It's alright with me if you stay," she said. "But I agree with Jethro. If you screw up again you will not be welcome back. Ever."

"I understand," JoAnne said softly.

"Grand-a-ma?"

"Yes Tony?"

"Wanna comes and sees what's I's making everybody for Christmas?" He held out his hand so she could take it if she wanted to. Smiling softly, humbled by this child who was so loving and forgiving, JoAnne took Tony's hand and followed him to the kitchen.

xxx

Tony finished making gifts for everyone—including JoAnne—just before lunch was ready. "Alright," Shannon said. "Kids go wash your hands before we eat!" Kelly scrambled off, knowing that the sooner they got done with lunch the faster they'd get to open presents. Tony ambled off much slower, and Shannon's eyes narrowed at the slump in his shoulders, but didn't comment on it. A glance at her husband told Shannon that he had noticed the same thing. They'd keep an eye on him and if there was a hurdle they'd cross it together as a family. This first Christmas was filled with wonder and excitement for all of the Gibbses, but it was also filled with its share of challenges as Tony struggled to understand his place in this very big family day.

A moment later Kelly showed back up, snatched her plate and headed for the head of the line. Because their dining room table was small when everyone crowded around it, Shannon had set up all the food along the counter in the kitchen so that everyone could hit the line buffet style. Kelly was all smiles, eager and hungry, ready to eat and move on with the rest of the day. The adults quickly noticed that Tony had not returned from washing his hands.

"You go ahead," Shannon said to everyone else. "I'll go find him."

xxx

Officer Mick Powers had been a police officer in the LA area for several years now. He was one of those cops who looked like a cop no matter if he was on or off duty. His dark hair was shaved to a five o'clock shadow all over his head. There was never a string or button out of place and his uniform creases were always impeccably straight. He'd drawn the short straw and was stuck working the Christmas Day shift, much to his young wife's dismay. Part of his job as a police officer was to serve court orders, warrants, and other important documents of that nature to people as necessary. He sat in his patrol car and read the papers he'd just been given to serve and shook his head in disbelief at the information he possessed. This sounded like one of those cases that would go down in the textbooks.

Anthony DiNozzo Senior paced furiously in his cell. He'd been denied bail. The judge thought he was a flight risk because he had bank accounts overseas. Ok so technically he _was_ a flight risk, but he was also _Anthony DiNozzo_ and this was ridiculous! He was a prominent businessman—he worked hard and earned _almost_ every dime he had. He was wealthy—he was among the wealthiest people in the country! Being treated like this was outrageous!

The more he paced the angrier he got. Angry at his dead wife for getting pregnant. Angry at his dead wife for dying. Angry that his worthless little spawn hadn't died instead. Angry that he'd not killed the little bastard himself before he caused all this fucking trouble. Angry that he'd thrown the child out instead of locking him away somewhere. Angry at himself for his carelessness that had led to this moment. Angry at the teacher who'd tricked him. Angry at the sonofabitch who had his son—HIS. SON. Anthony was _HIS_. Shouldn't he be allowed to do what he needed to do to keep the little bastard in line? People just didn't understand what a burden having a child like Tony was.

Senior stopped pacing when he heard the sound of keys jingling at the lock on the hallway's door. Finally! Someone must have come to their senses! Senior watched the hallway with interest as three men entered the hallway. One was the slimy asshole who'd thrown him in here to start with. He was the guard on the hall and not fit to lick the dirt off the bottom of a DiNozzo's shoe. His lawyer was on the hall with the guard. The other was a very straight, very tall, very neatly uniformed police officer. They had to be coming to visit him—his lawyer was among the group, and he was the only person locked up on this block.

"Good afternoon Mr. DiNozzo," the guard sneered. "I trust you are enjoying your stay?"

"Fuck off," Senior said. "The hell do you want with me anyway?"

xxx

Shannon found Little Tony sitting on the stairs in the hall. His knees were drawn up close to his chest, and his forehead rested on them. He was curled tightly into a small little ball—something Shannon hadn't observed him doing in some time.

"Tony? Babydoll what are you doing sitting over here all by yourself? It's lunch time," She sat down next to him on the steps and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. He didn't look up at her. She could feel the tremor of his shoulders and knew he was trying not to cry.

"I's sorry," he said finally. "I's coming." He started to get up.

"Ohhhhh no," Shannon said, tugging him into her lap. "You aren't going anywhere til you tell me what's wrong," she said, tickling his tummy gently. A smile flickered across his features but quickly vanished.

"You's a get mad a me. Jethro too," Tony whispered. "I's bad…I shouldn't…I's sorry…"

"Tony baby, we aren't going to get mad at you. What's wrong?"

_**Flashback**_

_Tony always had to stay outside while the DiNozzos ate their holiday meals. It was decided early on that the child made too much of a mess, and as such, would be quite a disruption to any social gathering the family may undertake on a holiday. It was not uncommon for Little Tony to find himself strapped into his high chair and left in the garage for hours on end. If that didn't happen he occasionally found himself dosed with some sort of medication that would make him sleepy and later he would wake up under his bed to find that he'd missed the entire day._

_One Christmas day though…last year…before his father had kicked him out…Tony was locked in the basement. His father had sent him to get something earlier that morning, and Tony had gone, not realizing what was going to happen. Hours later his father opened the door and brought a bowl of rubbery noodles downstairs. He set it on the floor and watched as Tony began to eat with his fingers. Senior sat on the steps, waiting while his son shoved food into his mouth as though he'd been starved (he had been). _

_When he was finished eating, his father hadn't made any moves to get up from the stairs. Tony inched closer and finally sat on the floor at his father's feet. _

"_Father? Please tell me…what's Christmas like?"_

_His father, chuckling in an alcohol –induced glee, began recounting events of Christmases past and present, telling stories, talking about gifts, reminiscing about wonderful dishes, cookies, meals, and drinks that he'd partaken of over the years._

_It was the most his father had ever spoken to him. And the nicest. After his stories ended, his father had dragged him up the stairs and told him to get under the bed and go to sleep. For the first time in months, Tony had gone to bed—not hungry, and not in much pain. It had been a very special evening…one that would be etched firmly into the child's mind…_

_**End flashback**_

"I's missin' my mean-daddy," he said softly. "He's wasn't always mean a me. Last year ons Christmas he even feeded me and telled me stories about his Christmases. I's wasn't mad he locked me inna basement after that."

Tony's voice was filled with pride over the memory. It broke Shannon's heart.

"It's uh…Tony it's ok to miss your father. But you have to understand Sweetheart…you aren't going to go back to him ok? You're going to stay here. Your father did some things to you that were not ok, and because he did those things, it really isn't safe for you to stay with him. Does that make sense?"

Tony thought about it for a moment. He knew his father was mean and awful to him most of the time. He'd hurt him all over—his leg still hurt because of his mean-daddy. If he had to choose between going to stay with his mean-daddy and staying here with Jethro, Shannon, and Kelly…well Jethro and his family would win every time. They never made Tony hurt. In fact, much to the child's surprise, they tried to keep him from hurting as much as possible.

"I's don'ts wanna go backs a my mean-daddy," Little Tony said softly. "I's wanna stays here with you and Jethro and Kelly." He thought for a minute. "And Grandpa and Grand-a-ma."

Shannon smiled. "Well come on then Little One," she said, planting a kiss on his forehead. "Let's go join them."

The two made their way back to the kitchen where everyone greeted Tony with smiles and welcomes. A silent look between Jethro and Shannon said they would be speaking about what happened later on. Jethro was no idiot—he saw the unshed tears in his wife's eyes. He knew something was going on. But now was time for lunch. There was plenty of food, lots of laughter, lots of family. All was well.

xxx

DiNozzo Senior's lawyer spoke up. Aaron was a good man, a good friend. He was the perfect person to have in your corner when the pressure became too much. "Anthony," he said softly, with a resigned tone, "don't make it worse for yourself."

Senior bristled at his lawyer's words. "What is going on? Will someone please let me the hell out of here so I can go home and get on with my life?"

The other officer let out a breath that sounded more like a laugh and shook his head. "Oh no, you aren't going anywhere," he said. "My name is Officer Powers. I am here to serve you."

"Serve me? Well! It's about time! I need some—"

Mick Powers held out an envelope. "Here you are Mr. DiNozzo. You've been served. See you in court."

xxx

After lunch it was finally—much to Kelly's relief—time to open gifts. Tony had his all ready to go, and the family agreed that after lunch they would open them.

Kelly carefully divided the gifts out, sorting carefully through the presents, taking care not to injure any of them. Shannon was fully armed with both the camera and the video recorder, ready to capture every moment of the magic of Christmas to be preserved all throughout history. Tony sat on the floor and watched in awe as the pile of *his* presents grew.

Tony had been quite satisfied with the huge box of unit blocks he'd opened earlier, and couldn't imagine that he'd be given more than that for Christmas. You didn't even have to do anything to get Christmas presents!

Kelly smiled at him. "On the count of three we're gonna open presents together," she said.

Tony smiled and nodded, selecting the present he wanted to open first. He chose an oddly shaped package that was slightly heavy.

"One! Twooooooo! THREE GO GO GO!" Kelly and Tony began ripping into their presents, although Tony ripped with much more care and consideration for the wellbeing of the wrapping paper than Kelly did. She was like a paper shredder, literally ripping it into tiny shreds as she removed the covering from the gift.

Kelly was excited to receive furniture for her doll house. Tony's eyes widened at what he saw. It was a set of blocks that, once put together, could be moved with a remote control. He stared in awe at the grownups in the room, clutching the K-Nex set tightly to his chest. "That'll be something you and I can play with together Tony," Gibbs said. "I'll show you how to make it work."

Tony smiled and nodded. He carefully set the gift aside and watched as the grownups watched him. "Go ahead Tony," JoAnne said with a smile. "You don't have to wait to open the next gifts, just jump in!"

Tony nodded, uncertain, and looked to Jethro and Shannon for permission. They each smiled and nodded and Tony looked to the stack of gifts next to him. He selected another gift, this one much smaller and much flatter than the first one had been. He unwrapped it carefully and his eyes widened when he saw it was a book. Tony loved books. Closer inspection revealed—and Tony gasped—this book had his name on it. He turned to Jethro. "Why's my name on the book?"

Jethro chuckled and set the gift he was opening aside. "Well it seems as though the title of this book is 'Tony Baloney'" he said with a smile. "It's about a little penguin and his dandelion and they are always getting into trouble. Trouble follows him everywhere! I think Mommy wanted a new bedtime story book. What do you think?"

Tony giggled and his eyes danced with delight—a book! And not only a book—but a book that had Tony in it! He was overjoyed—this was the best Christmas ever! He also quickly noticed that there was another book stacked underneath Tony Baloney. He furrowed his brow and tried to figure out the words, but couldn't read them. He recognized his name, but that was about it for now. He'd learn to read soon. He was going to start Kindergarten in the fall.

"Jethro what's this book?"

"This book," Jethro said with a small smile, "is called 'You Are Special.' It's a good book for kids who are adopted—like we want to adopt you. I think you'll like it. Mommy picked both of them out, but I read them both—they're very good."

"Cans we reads 'em now?"

"Why don't you finish opening all your other presents and tonight before bed we will read your Tony Baloney and your You Are Special books? How's that sound?" Shannon gave herself a pat on the back for picking out the perfect gift for her quirky child.

xxx

Senior snatched the envelope away from the officer and opened it. He pulled out a stack of papers that he quickly recognized were court orders. He raised an eyebrow at his lawyer who shrugged helplessly. "I told you not to go to Little Anthony's school the other day," he said. "You brought this on yourself."

Senior muttered something unflattering when he saw the restraining order that would keep him away from his own child and his guardian and the guardian's family, and then he began reading over the list—yes there was a _list_—of charges being levied against him. It seemed as though the charges had been divided up by alleged offense. Regarding the fact that he went to Tony's school—which was on the Marine Corps Base—he was being charged with Federal Trespassing, Attempted Kidnapping, Providing False Information To A Law Enforcement Officer—perhaps he shouldn't have said he had the right to have Tony when custody of the child belonged to the state…During his transport to the jail where he was currently being held, Senior had managed to add another charge to the list: Aggravated Assault of Military Personnel when he kicked the MP, nearly breaking the poor guy's knee.

Reading further, it seemed as though Tony's guardian had been hard at work, attempting to ruin his life. There were charges filed by the state for Child Abuse, citing examinations made by some doctor that Senior had never heard of, Child Abandonment—he hadn't technically abandoned Tony, he hadn't taken him anywhere and dropped him off. He'd just told him to leave. There were charges filed by Social Services for Psychological Terror and Torture, citing a psychological evaluation made by some state shrink who undoubtedly was paid to say whatever the state wanted.

Senior flipped the page and continued reading and his eyes widened. It seemed that Tony's guardian had been busier than he realized. He looked up at his lawyer. "Can that sonofabitch do this?"

Aaron took the papers from Senior and read over the one his client indicated carefully. It seemed as though each parent in Tony's class at daycare had filed a charge for Child Endangerment. The parents in Tony's class must have heard about the attempted kidnapping, about Senior breaking into the back gate of the playground, and Senior being brought into the building where there were children. Fourteen counts of Child Endangerment…Aaron wasn't sure if it would stick or not, but it'd certainly be enough to make them sweat a little.

Senior was fuming now. He paced angrily around his cell, so caught up in his rage that he forgot momentarily that there were people watching him. "Dirty little bastard. Knew I shoulda killed him while I had the chance. I could have dug a hole and no one would have been any wiser…coulda done him just like I did his mother…"

Officer Powers' ears perked up at this. "What happened with his mother, Mr. DiNozzo?"

Senior's face reddened. "That's none of your goddamn business," he snarled at the cop.

"Anthony," Aaron said, wanting to get his client back on the subject at hand before he ended up buried under the jail. Senior looked up at Aaron, his lawyer, his dearest friend. "Anthony there's more to it than this," he said gently. "You need to hear the rest of it."

Senior bristled. "What is it?"

Aaron rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably. "It seems the FBI has been interested in you for some time. They've frozen all of your assets while they do some investigating."

Aaron didn't tell Senior that Aaron was also being investigated…and he didn't tell him that he had made a deal with the state prosecutors…he would give up information regarding Senior's behavior...he had already made a deal to provide the state with evidence against Senior in exchange for lesser charges than he was now facing himself. Charges of Conspiracy to Commit Fraud, Extortion, and there was the possibility of a looming murder charge that Aaron didn't want to think about.

Aaron didn't have the nerve to tell Senior yet…but his friend's problems were the least of his own concerns. And personally, Aaron kind of thought Senior deserved to fry for what he'd done to first his wife, and later his child.

xxx

Tony selected and opened several more gifts, each one more astounding than the one before it. He had two sets of blocks now—the wooden unit blocks and a huge lego set. He'd gotten several books, a board game, and a tool set. Several toy cars quickly joined the ever growing pile of toys, and Jethro had gotten him a big wheel riding toy. Finally there was only one gift left. JoAnne's.

Jethro nudged the last gift toward Tony and smiled. Kelly had long since finished opening hers and was trying to resist the urge to…help…Tony with his.

Tony's fingers traced along the box. It wasn't too big, but it wasn't too small. It was a plain rectangle shape, but was heavier than expected when he tried to move it. He looked up at JoAnne. "Fors me?"

JoAnne nodded. "For you Sweetheart." She wondered how she had ever thought badly of this child—this beautiful, sweet, loving child!

Tony unwrapped the box and opened it…and his jaw dropped. Inside the box were different sized pads of paper, markers of every variety, crayons of every color, colored pencils, paints, paintbrushes, watercolors, stickers, glue sticks, scissors, stencils—everything a child needed to make the most wonderful pictures, drawings, colorings, ever. This…this gift was pure magic.

Tony stared into the box for a long time. Jethro and Shannon noticed that Tony's lower lip was quivering slightly, and Shannon shot a dirty look at her mother. "I don't understand," she said softly. "It's just a box of art supplies—I got him an art kit!"

Jethro scooted to the floor and wrapped an arm around Tony's shoulder. "You okay buddy?"

Tony nodded but didn't say anything.

"You like your presents?"

Tony nodded again.

Jethro tapped him gently under his chin to get him to look up. Tony stared up at Jethro through the biggest crocodile tears the marine had ever seen. "Why the tears big guy?"

Tony sniffled and climbed to his feet slowly. Jethro supported him until he had his balance and Tony stepped over to JoAnne and stopped in front of her.

"Thank you's for my present," Tony said softly. He leaned forward and gave JoAnne a kiss on her cheek. "It's the bestest present evers! I's loves drawing. I's never haves my own drawing stuff a fore," he said as happy tears spilled down his cheeks.

"May I give you a hug Tony?"

Tony nodded and all but leapt into JoAnne's arms. She hugged him tightly, tears of her own streaming down her face. "I'm glad you like what I gave you. I wasn't sure what you enjoyed."

"Thanks you Grand-a-ma," Tony said softly. He turned and gave a hug to Jackson, then Shannon, Kelly, and finally Jethro. "This is the bestest Christmas evers," he said, hugging his Jethro close.

xxx

Senior was sitting by himself, on the filthy bunk bed, head in his hands when he heard the lock rattle again. Perhaps Aaron had managed to get him out after all? His heart dropped when he saw that it was the guard—again—this time carrying a Styrofoam box with him, wearing a snarky grin.

"Dinner," the guard said. He passed the surprisingly light box through the bars to Senior. Anthony took the box and flipped it open.

"What the hell do you call this?"

The guard grinned. "I call it hilarious," the guard said with a sardonic grin. "You will call it dinner. I seem to remember last year when election time came around, you, Mr. DiNozzo, were really pushing towards funding at the local jails and state prisons to be cut. We were giving too much to the prisoners, I believe you said. Well the budgets got cut alright—so we decided to cut the fancy dinners out."

"But it's Christmas! Where's the Christmas dinner?" Anthony was appalled at this. This was unacceptable.

"You, my friend, don't get Christmas Dinner. You get the same thing every other person in the custody of law enforcement in the State of California get: Peanut butter sandwich, chips, half an apple, a slice of cheese and water. The chips are extra, 'cause it's the holiday and all."

Senior's eyes looked like they may pop out of his head. The guard snapped his finger. "Oh! I almost forgot. Dessert." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small candy cane—busted at that. "Merry Christmas Asshole," the guard said with a cheerful smile.

xxx

"Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse." Jethro held the book carefully so Tony could see the pictures. Shannon had already read Tony's new books to him, but now he wanted "ones more story from Jethro." It was such a nice day there was no sense in telling Tony no to more stories.

Kelly was already asleep, JoAnne was tucked away with her, Jackson was on the couch, and Shannon was getting ready for bed. Tony was snuggled up with Jethro, his small head on Jethro's shoulder, eyes getting droopy. Jethro glanced at him out of the corner of his eye but kept reading.

"And Mama in her kerchief and I in my cap had just settled down fo—"

"Jethro?"

"Yeah buddy?"

"My tummy hurts," Tony said softly, wrapping an arm around his belly.

Jethro raised an eyebrow. "Oh?" Tony had eaten more at dinner than any of them had ever seen him eat before. Jethro figured Tony probably had stretched his stomach a bit. "You need to sit up?"

Tony shook his head, nuzzling his head back into the crook of Jethro's armpit, eyes on the book, arms still wrapped around his stomach. "Think I…eated…too much," he said around a yawn. He nudged Jethro's arm gently. "Keeps reading!"

Jethro smiled. "And Mama in her kerchief and I in my cap had just settled down fo—"

"Jethro?"

Jethro closed his eyes and sighed silently. They'd never get through the story at this rate. "Yeah Tony?"

"Do you's think my Mama can sees me from heavens?"

Jethro's throat constricted slightly. "I…I think so…" he said hoarsely.

Tony nodded and folded his hands over his stomach. He was thinking, Jethro could see that much on his face, so he didn't start reading again.

"Jethro?"

"Yeah buddy?"

"Do you's think my mean-daddy misses me?"

"I don't know sweet boy," Jethro whispered. He carded his fingers through Tony's hair and kissed his forehead.

"I's kinda hope he misses me," Tony said softly. "I's kinda misses him."

Jethro smiled sadly at his child. "I bet so," he said softly. "It's ok to miss him."

"Do you's think Santy Taws went to's visit him?"

Jethro had gotten a call earlier that his papers had been delivered to Senior and he smiled. "I bet he did Tony. I bet he got a whole _bunch_ of presents for Christmas."

"Jethro?"

"Yeah Tony?"

"Can I's stay with you's forevers? Can I's be your little boy?"

"There is nothing I'd like more."

Tony quieted down and Jethro lifted the book again and began to read. "When what to my wondering eyes should appear but a—"

"Jethro?"

Jethro lowered the book again. It was going to be Valentine's Day before they finished this damn story. "Yeah Tony?"

"Thank you's for my Christmas presents." Tony smiled at him.

Jethro smiled and kissed Tony on the nose. "You're welcome. More story?"

Tony nodded and wriggled excitedly before going still to listen to the rest of the story.

"And I heard him exclaim as he rode out of sight—"

"Jethro?"

"What buddy?"

"I's love you."

Jethro smiled again. "I love you too Tony. Love you soooooo much." He lifted the book again and felt Tony's body go limp as he fell asleep. "Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night."

TBC…


	9. Spring1

**Author's Note:** I'm just gonna throw out a blanket warning—with this story/series, always assume you need tissues hahaha  
><em><strong>Thanks as always to gotgoats for helping me make this story happen! Pbbbbbbbbbbbbbt<strong>_

**Daddy's Boy  
><strong>**Chapter 9—Spring 1**

Tony's eyes opened and he bit his lip to silence the cry of pain that begged to escape. His leg HURT! And not just a small-ish ache, this was a full fledged, hurts to move your toes, feel it all the way into your shoulders sort of leg ache. He looked at the window and could see that it was still dark outside, and slowly sat up, rubbing his leg over the brace, trying to get it to stop hurting. He knew when it hurt bad like this that he wouldn't be able to walk on it…he needed to pee, but he figured he should wait until his leg stopped hurting to try going to the bathroom by himself.

He didn't scream, in fact, he didn't make a sound at all, because he was scared he'd wake someone up. They were all tired—there was no reason for Tony to wake them up. He finally dropped down to lay on his side, leg pulled up close to his chest, rubbing it hard, wrapping an arm around it, taking slow whimpering breaths trying to stay calm, and wondering how long it would be until Jethro woke up to get ready for work. Jethro always woke up while it was still dark outside.

Tony shifted slightly in the bed and bit his lip again, trying not to scream in pain when his leg moved. He quickly slid his pajama pants off—even having his pants touch his leg hurt too much. It was warmer tonight than it had been back around Christmastime so Tony didn't think he'd catch cold or get into trouble. He hoped he wouldn't anyway. Another wave of pain struck and Tony bit his lip, this time tasting blood. He hadn't bitten his lip that hard in some time. He clutched his leg tighter, and hoped Jethro would wake up soon. He was scared. His leg was hurting really bad.

xxx

Jethro paced the floor, hands in his pockets, eyes on the clock. He hated guard duty. Hated it more when it was overnight guard duty. But last night after the children had gone to sleep, Mario, one of his marines, had called him up and told him he was sick—vomiting, the works. Jethro agreed to come serve the man's duty for him, in exchange for him serving Jethro's next time. It was pretty rare that Jethro had duty now that he was a Gunnery Sergeant, but he would fill in with his boys whenever he had to, and he made sure he was on the schedule for at least one night every month or two. Sometimes more, sometimes less, depending on who was on leave, and what was going on.

Jethro let out a long sigh when he saw the clock strike 3am. He thought of his beautiful wife, at home, asleep and warm in the bed. He loved Shannon when she was sleeping—loved her anyway—but especially liked it when she was sleepy, because she was so snuggly and affectionate. Her smile was easier than it was when she was awake, and all of the things in her world that cause lines of worry to appear went away when she was sleepy, as did the worry lines. Jethro wished he was at home in bed with her right now.

Jethro thought of Kelly. She was becoming quite an outgoing, precocious little lady. She was fiercely protective of Tony, was enjoying her dance class—thanks to Grandma for paying for it—and was loving being in school. She was excited because this year she was in Second Grade, and that meant she held all of the knowledge in the world. Jethro adored his daughter, was always amused by her, and was in absolute awe at how patient and caring she could be with those people around her.

Tony was coming right along too, Jethro thought to himself. He was losing some of the odd speech patterns that had been so prevalent when he'd first come to stay with them. He was beginning to speak a bit more like a five year old and a little less like a toddler. Jethro was concerned though, because it seemed as though he was having more trouble with his leg. Tony hadn't complained about it hurting at all, but Jethro and Shannon had both witnessed Tony rubbing his leg, squeezing at it, patting it lightly over the brace he wore twenty-three hours each day. There hadn't been anymore scares at the daycare center since the episode right before Christmas. There were a few days after Christmas when Tony was nervous about going back to school, but Jethro and Shannon reassured Tony that his father wasn't going to come and hurt him anymore. He was back to happily attending daycare and loving it.

Jethro's lawyer was keeping him well versed on everything that was going on with Senior. Since Christmas, three months ago, Senior's lawyer had been indicted and had plea bargained out. He'd sold out his client, telling the FBI and the State Investigators all sorts of attorney-client privileged information. Senior was now being held in the Callifornia State Penitentiary, awaiting trial. He was also awaiting the closed adoption hearing in which his parental rights would be stripped away and given to Jethro and Shannon. The hearing was scheduled for the end of May.

Jethro heard a noise and turned around, smiling and throwing up a hand when he saw that it was one of the other marines on guard tonight. He glanced at the clock, now 3:12am, and let out another sigh. It was going to be a long night.

xxx

Shannon woke from her sound sleep and sat up in bed. She looked around, glancing at the clock, and groaned when she saw that it was 3:08am. Something woke her up though. She didn't know what it was, hadn't heard anything that she could recall, but something woke her up. Shannon yawned and stretched and figured that since she was awake anyway, she may as well get up and go to the bathroom and check on the kids.

She hated nights like this—when Jethro had guard duty. She hated being left alone because it reminded her of the long months when Jethro would be sent on deployment. Shannon hated deployments. She knew they were necessary, and honestly the paychecks were wonderful while Jethro was away, but she would much rather have her husband at home and have less money, than to get the wonderful income and not have him here. He'd reenlisted the previous fall…Shannon knew it was only a matter of time before his number would be up and Jethro would be called away again. Thankfully the Marines did things differently than the other branches of the military. Marine deployments were shorter—usually only seven or eight months, as opposed to say, the army, whose deployments could be for as long as fifteen months.

Shannon flushed the toilet and glanced at herself in the mirror while she washed her hands. There were a couple of patches of gray beginning to show up at her hairline and she frowned at that. At 33 years old, Shannon felt she was a bit young for that to be happening. She quickly dried her hands and headed down the hall.

Kelly was asleep in her bed. She'd somehow managed to get turned around so her head was at the foot of the bed. Her stuffed frog was clutched in one arm, and her thumb was securely situated in her mouth. She didn't even stir when her mother resituated her in the bed, putting her head back on her pillow and covering her up. Shannon smiled and closed the door behind her.

Shannon opened the door and heard a soft gasp. Shannon's heart sank when she saw her youngest was wide awake, lying on his side, biting his lip and clutching his leg.

"Tony? Honey are you ok?"

Tony shifted slightly and his eyes slid to Shannon in the dark room. He stared at the silhouette in the doorway, illuminated by the light in the hallway and he whimpered softly.

"I…I sorry I woke you up," he said softly.

"You didn't wake me up," Shannon said gently. "What's wrong?"

Tony slowly pushed himself up in bed. "My leg," he whispered. "'s hurtin'."

Shannon was always impressed that no matter how badly his leg hurt, Tony never took off the brace unless he had permission. The doctor had given him instructions, and he always followed orders. Shannon wished Kelly would listen as well as Tony.

Sitting down on the edge of the bed Shannon carefully undid the Velcro holding the brace on his leg. "Oh my goodness," she said softly. She could see how tense the muscles in the leg were and could see the pain marring his face. "Honey why didn't you come wake me up?"

"You was sleepin'," Tony said softly. "I know you was tired, so I didn't wanna wake you up."

Shannon hugged her boy closely. "Oh baby you can always come get me if you need me. I don't mind being woke up."

Tony looked uncertain. He knew that before his Mama went to heaven, she always hated it when Tony woke her up. She was never mean to Tony unless it was the middle of the night. Then she was hateful and sniping; always saying mean things to her child in the darkness. During the day though, she was loving and caring, generous with hugs and always smiling—much like Shannon. Tony worried that Shannon might be like Mama if he woke her up at night.

"Mama didn't like it when I woke her up," Tony said carefully.

"Well I don't mind," Shannon said. "And you're mine now," she smiled. "You want something to make that leg quit hurting?"

Tony thought for a moment then nodded. "I gotta go pee too," he said softly. "But I…I not sure I can walk."

"Here," Shannon said, holding out her hand. "I'll help you Angel. You don't worry. Leave everything to me."

xxx

The sun had risen and was moving higher in the sky by the time Jethro finished his paperwork and got to come home to sleep. He narrowed his eyes slightly when he saw Shannon's car in the driveway and pulled in next to her. Shannon was supposed to be working today. That meant something was wrong.

Jethro hurried into the house. "Shannon? You here?"

She met him on the steps with a hug and a gentle shushing. "I just got Tony back to sleep," she whispered.

"Back to sleep? What's wrong with him? He ok?"

"He's having more trouble with his leg Jethro," Shannon said sadly. "I don't think the brace is doing what it's supposed to be doing."

Jethro kissed her cheek. "When did he start hurting?"

"Around three this morning," Shannon yawned. "Sorry. You've been awake all night and here I am yawning at you. Kelly's at school…we just got home from taking her and Tony went back to sleep."

"Go take a nap Sweetheart," Jethro said kindly. "I'll stay with Tony."

"But you need sleep too," Shannon protested. "More than I do!"

"When has me staying with Tony ever kept me from sleeping," Jethro chuckled. "I'll just scoot him over and make him share the bed. It's alright Baby, go get some sleep. We'll regroup at lunchtime. Wake me up when you get up ok?"

"Jethro…"

"Look honey you know if I sleep all day I won't sleep any tonight and then my schedule will be completely ruined," he smiled. "I promise. It's ok. This will just guarantee we all go to bed on time tonight for a change."

Shannon nodded. Jethro was right. "Ok," she relented. "I'll wake you for lunch."

xxx

The next few days were a flurry of activity as Jethro and Shannon took Tony to Kindergarten registration, where they received shocked glances that he hadn't been enrolled this year. Jethro had explained with a stony face that there were extenuating circumstances that prevented him from coming to school this year and he would appreciate to not be judged because of things he had no control over.

They had to take Tony to the doctor for his Kindergarten physical exam, which included a booster shot, much to Tony's horror. Unlike last time though, this time Tony was sitting in Jethro's lap, and when the man told him to hold still, Tony buried his face into Jethro's shirt and clutched onto it tightly. He cried a bit when the needle stung, but didn't attack the doctor. He sniffled and whimpered and Jethro felt like the biggest monster in the world for putting his child through the torture of preventing life-threatening illnesses. The doctor had also taken a look at Tony's leg, made a note in the file, and told the Gibbses they should contact Tony's orthopedist about his leg pain. That led to another doctor appointment where the doctor adjusted the brace, put the pressure on Tony's joints a little higher in an effort to get them to straighten, and assured the Gibbses that the brace was working, albeit very slowly, and the pain Tony was experiencing was normal—it was painful for bones to be straightened.

"I think he'd be better off having surgery," Jethro said.

"That will be a last resort," the doctor said. His name was Dr. Trexler, and the Gibbses were very impressed by him, simply because he hated that Tony was hurting as much as they did. He had some good ideas for Tony to try to exercise his leg, and he had some ideas for pain relief for the boy that hopefully would result in them not needed to give him as much medication for the pain. Dr. Trexler never encouraged the Gibbses to avoid pain medication, but he encouraged them to make sure they'd tried other things first. Sometimes the pain could be stopped or lessened without needing drugs.

"If we do surgery on his leg, he'll be confined to a wheelchair for a period of time," the doctor said.

Jethro knew his active boy wouldn't want that, and he shared a worried glance with Shannon. "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," Jethro said at last.

xxx

It was taking some time for Tony to adjust to being fed regularly. Because he was so malnourished, his new pediatrician had recommended that Tony be given snacks in between meals and before he went to bed. Jethro and Shannon were encouraged to give Tony food whenever he asked for it, but also told not to let him hoard food. Tony still never asked for food, but he would always devour anything that was offered to him. It broke Jethro's heart to know that this child had been so hungry, for so long, that he still looked at food as a reward or as though it was a rare commodity that he may not see again for some time.

For several months Tony had struggled to gain weight. Initially he would eat himself sick-because he ate so fast, he rarely chewed his food properly, and his little belly was not used to being stretched so suddenly so often. That problem, thankfully, was diminishing, but Tony still had some issues when it came to eating.

The worst issue was forced upon the Gibbses that Friday night...

It had been a long week. Tony had gotten all registered for Kindergarten, Kelly had dance class after school, Shannon had readjusted her work schedule to accommodate the kids' schedules, and Jethro had been away for overnight guard duty on Tuesday. By Friday night each of them was ready for the weekend. Tony was learning that weekends meant that Jethro was home and didn't have to wear his uniforms and didn't have to go to work.

Tony liked weekends.

Shannon had made spaghetti with meatballs for dinner and the family had gathered around the dinner table to share the adventures of their week. It was a happy time, everyone was talking, telling about their day-including Tony-and laughing as they all shared their antics with one another.

The Gibbs family loved to have fun, and were constantly laughing and joking together.

As they ate, Tony reached for his cup and suddenly laughed at something Jethro said. Because he was laughing, he didn't realize how close his hand was to the cup he was reaching for, and instead of picking up the cup he accidentally knocked it over. Milk went everywhere with a huge splash. There was milk on Tony's plate, on his clothes, dripping onto his chair and a small puddle was forming on the floor.

"Oh my goodness!" Shannon was on her feet in an instant going for a towel to clean up the mess.

"Uh ohhh," Jethro said, and he righted the cup and placed his napkin over the edge of the table where he could catch the worst of the runoff. "I hate it when that happens," he said, keeping his tone light.

"Ooooooooooh Tonyyyyyy you made a mess!" Seven year old Kelly's eyes were wide and focused on the puddle of milk on the table-the puddle that was slowly making its way toward her plate. She squealed and laughed at it, throwing her napkin on it as it got close to her.

In the midst of all of the mad scrambling to clean up the mess, Tony did not move. His eyes were wide, focused on the cup, on the puddle of milk, on his ruined plate of food. It took a moment for Jethro to realize that Tony was beginning to panic. He quickly rushed to the boy's side.

"Tony? Hey Tony look at me buddy. Look at me Tony. Look at Daddy."

But Tony's eyes were fixed and not moving from the mess he'd made. He was going to be beaten for sure for this. He'd be punished-he made a mess! He was not supposed to ever make a mess like that! Jethro was going to be so mad! Sure he sounded like he was being nice now, but that was only because Kelly was there and Jethro was never mean to Kelly.

Jethro turned Tony's chair so that the child was facing him and he gently cupped his hands around the boy's cheeks and looked right into the boy's eyes. His gut twisted at the fear he saw filling the boy's stare. Looking him over carefully, Gibbs saw that the little boy's pants were wet where he'd spilled his milk.

"Tony? You ok buddy? You with me?"

Kelly's eyes were wide behind Jethro as she watched her little brother. "Daddy whatsamatter with Tony?"

"He's ok Kels, don't worry. Aren't you Tony? You're ok. Let's go change your pants. C'mon buddy," Jethro stood up and held his hand out for Tony.

Tony slid off the chair silently and hung his head. He reached up and held Jethro's hand and followed the older man up the stairs as though he were being led to the gallows. They passed Shannon on the stairs and she immediately caught the boy's quiet, fearful behavior. She and Jethro shared a glance and Jethro nodded sadly as they walked up the stairs. "It's ok Sweetie," Shannon said. "Messes happen sometimes! I spilled my coffee yesterday morning-made a big ole mess! We just clean up and move on. No biggie ok?"

Tony didn't respond. Instead he kept his eyes on the floor and followed Jethro up the stairs to his bedroom. Once they got into the room, Gibbs headed for Tony's dresser and opened the top drawer to pull a dry pair of underwear out before finding more pants.

"Go ahead and take off your pants Tony," he said absently as he dug through the drawers.

Tony's heart plummeted at Jethro's words. He was right; he'd be beaten. He just knew it. Suddenly overcome by a wave of nausea, Tony turned and ran to the bathroom. He realized he was probably breaking another rule by running away, but he figured if he was going to throw up again it would be better to put it in the toilet than on the floor. He was slightly confused though, by how quickly everything had changed. Things had been so good, so…perfect for so long, that Tony wasn't sure what to do now.

It wasn't until Gibbs heard the sound of the retching down the hall that he thought back over what he'd said. He remembered what the child had told them months ago about sleeping in the bed, about wetting the bed, and about how his "mean-daddy" made him take off his pants for a whipping.

And Gibbs had just told Tony to take off his pants.

"Shit," he muttered, hurrying to help the little boy. "Tony? Tony, are you ok sweet boy?"

The child heaved and heaved, retching up every ounce of food he'd eaten—perhaps for the whole day. Gibbs rubbed his back softly, noticing the trembling just beneath the surface and he realized that if Tony weren't so preoccupied with throwing up that he'd be flinching wildly at the physical contact.

Finally the horrible heaving stopped, leaving Tony hunched over the toilet, gripping the sides of it desperately, tears and snot dripping off of his face, breathing in deep gasps. Jethro could see the small boy's eyes were clenched shut and he thought he could kill DiNozzo Senior with his bare hands when Tony suddenly slid his pants and underwear down.

"Th-There a go J-Jethro," Tony stuttered out. "I-I's ready for my whippin'."

Jethro immediately noticed the change in his child's speech as the fear took over and old behaviors forced their way to the surface. He very gently helped the child the rest of the way out of his milk sodden pants and then helped him slip on the clean clothes in their place. He kept his movements very slow and deliberate, and very gentle. Once the child was clothed again Jethro helped him to stand up and turn to face him.

"You are not in trouble Tony," Jethro murmured, gently wiping the tears from Tony's cheeks with his thumbs. "It was just an accident." He wet a washcloth and wiped the little boy's face with it.

"B-But I's made a mess!"

"So we'll go clean it up and finish eating. No big deal," Jethro said. He pulled the child into a careful hug. "Come here kiddo," he said as the little one snuggled into his chest.

"I's s-sorry Jethro," Tony stuttered. The tears had started again and he fisted Jethro's shirt as though he were afraid the man may disappear.

"Shhhh…It's really ok Tony," Jethro said. "You didn't mean to. We all make mistakes or have accidents. We aren't going to punish you for it. It's just part of life and part of growing up. Nothing to get upset over."

Tony looked at him as though he was unsure, and Jethro gave him a reassuring smile. "Come on, let's go finish dinner."

"I's don' wanna eat no mores," Tony said as they made their way back down the stairs. "Is Shannon mad a me?"

Jethro shook his head. "Nope. She knows it was an accident. No one is mad at you."

Tony looked unsure for a long moment but finally nodded. "I-I gonna be more c-careful J-Jethro."

"You're fine Tony. Everything's ok."

When they returned to the dinner table Tony was shocked to see Shannon and Kelly sitting there waiting for the boys to come back. There was a new plate of food at Tony's place.

"You two alright?" Shannon's eyes were filled with concern and Tony couldn't look at her. It made him feel bad to know she was worried about him.

"We're great," Jethro said. "All cleaned up and ready to finish eating, right Tony?"

Tony kept his eyes on his lap. Maybe if he was very still he wouldn't make another mess. He was scared to eat now, because what if he dropped his noodles on his shirt?

Tony's family quickly tucked into their food, eating noodles and resuming conversation. A few minutes later, Shannon noticed that Tony wasn't eating, wasn't moving, wasn't even looking up.

"Tony? Sweetie-Pie are you alright? You aren't eating?"

"N-No thanks," Tony said softly. "I j-just gonna sit here."

"Are you not hungry anymore?"

Tony shook his head. Jethro frowned.

"Tony you big silly you gotta eat all your noodles! It's dinner—it's time ta eat!" Kelly chirped, trying to cheer her little brother up.

"N-No th-thanks," Tony said again, still not looking up from his lap.

"Tony are you not eating because you're afraid you'll make a mess?" Jethro's voice was calm. He didn't look mad.

The child nodded slowly.

Jethro and Shannon exchanged a look and then Jethro nodded. "Ok son," he said. "You don't have to eat if you don't want to. We'll give you a snack before you go to bed. That's ok."

"Absolutely," Shannon said.

Tony watched his lap for another moment and then decided to sneak a glance up at everyone to see if they looked mad yet. It was at that moment that Jethro reached for the bread basket…

And knocked over his own glass of milk.

Tony's eyes widened as he watched the milk go on his daddy's plate, into his daddy's lap and even on the floor under Jethro's chair—same as it had done to Tony. Shannon sprang from the chair to get the towel again.

"I swear Jethro you're so silly sometimes I wonder how you survive the day," she said, but her eyes were smiling. Was she teasing him?

Jethro shrugged. "Was just an accident," he said. "Sometimes these things happen." He stood up and looked at his own soaked lap. "I am going to go change my pants really quickly," he said. "Do you need my help cleaning up?"

"Nah, I think we got it," Shannon said, handing new paper towels to Kelly and Tony and putting one next to hers and Jethro's plates.

Jethro nodded and went running up the stairs. Tony remained frozen in the chair to see what would happen next. He watched with surprise as Shannon took the plate with milk and spaghetti on it and dumped it carefully before rinsing off the plate and putting new food on it.

"I'm glad I made extra," Shannon said softly. "Looks like we need some second chance noodles tonight."

"What's second ch-chance noodles," Tony asked.

Shannon smiled at him as she set Jethro's plate back down. "It's when you get new food because something happened to your food the first time around. I always make extra in case something happens and someone needs some second chance supper."

Tony smiled. A moment later Jethro reappeared in plaid pajama pants and a white undershirt. "Oh look! I got some second chance noodles! Thank you honey," he said, kissing his wife.

She smiled and winked at Tony. Tony glanced at Jethro and he smiled. "See, even grownups have accidents sometimes," he said. "We just clean 'em up and move on."

Tony nodded thoughtfully. "I like that," he said softly. "No whippins?"

Jethro shook his head. "No whippings. Ever."

"Not ever?" Tony's eyes rounded with shock at the idea of never getting another whipping.

"Kelly have we ever whipped you?"

Kelly shook her head. "Nope, and I've been very naughty sometimes Tony," she assured her brother.

"But I-I bad," Tony said. "My mean-daddy he said so!"

"You father can't hurt you anymore Little One," Shannon said. "Jethro and I will protect you and we love you very much—and don't ever want to hurt you. Not even if you make a mistake."

"I try a be good," Tony said with a firm nod. He picked up his fork and Jethro and Shannon watched as he very carefully ate a small forkful of noodles.

Jethro grinned when the child looked to him for approval. "Attaboy Tony," he said. "That's good work son."

TBC…


	10. Spring2

**Author's Note:** The opening sequence is dedicated to my brother who used to do the exact same thing Tony does to my dad, eeeeeeeevery night hahahahaa  
><em><strong>Thanks to my wonderful beta reader GotGoats for all her help! You rock pbbbbbbbbbbbbt!<strong>_

**Daddy's Boy  
><strong>**Chapter 10—Spring 2**

Jethro was lying on his right side, facing the wall, sound asleep. It was a cool night, raining, and perfect for sleeping. Somewhere in the deep recesses of his mind, he thought the bedroom door opened, but it didn't wake him up. The wonderful sleep continued, and Jethro snuggled a little deeper into the warm comforter and let out a happy sigh. It only took a few moments for his gut to twist ever so slightly, causing his brow to wrinkle. Something was wrong. He opened his eyes…and bit his lip before he screamed in pure terror.

There was Tony, standing right at the side of the bed, silent as death, blanket from the bed clutched in one arm, hair tousled and eyes only open at half mast. He didn't move, merely stood still, staring at Jethro, watching him sleep. Jethro quickly sat up and ran a hand through his hair.

"Tony? You okay buddy?"

Tony blinked but didn't speak. Jethro furrowed his brow.

"Tony. What are you doing out of bed?"

When Tony didn't answer again, Jethro reached a hand out and snapped his fingers in front of Tony's face. Tony blinked, but didn't respond otherwise.

Jethro cocked his head to one side, thinking what to do with his sleepwalking son. Deciding to take a risk, he very carefully hooked his hands under Tony's arms and lifted him up into the bed. He laid back down and looked at his little boy, and ran a hand lightly through his hair. Tony blinked again and this time came into focus.

"Jethro?"

"Hi Tony," Jethro said softly. "You ok?"

Tony raised his head up and looked around. "Why I in your bed?"

Jethro smiled. "You came in here…you were watching me sleep. Thought you might be tired, so I lifted ya up into bed. Do you wanna go back to your bed?"

Shannon rolled over and bumped into Tony. Her eyes shot open. "Tony you ok?"

"Yeah. I don't know why I came in your room," Tony said softly, then giggled.

Jethro smiled. Tony had lost a tooth last week and was just so adorable with that little hole in his smile. "Go back to sleep Little One," Jethro said softly. He kissed Tony's forehead and smiled when Tony snuggled up close. Shannon smiled at him over Tony's head, before dropping a kiss on Tony's temple.

"Jethro?"

"Yeah Tony?"

"You and Shannon the best 'nugglers ever," Tony said sleepily.

Jethro chuckled in the semi-dark room and closed his eyes. A moment later all three of them were asleep again.

xxx

"Mommy can Tony and I go outside and play?" It was lunchtime the next day. Tony was concentrating hard on eating his hot dog, trying to maneuver around the tender spot in his mouth where his tooth had come out, and trying to avoid the spot right next to it where _that_ tooth was loose now too. Kelly was already finished eating and making plans for their afternoon. Right now Tony just wanted to survive lunch.

"Well let's let Tony finish his lunch," Shannon suggested. "Then we should see if Tony wants to go out and play. He may not want to go."

Kelly turned to Tony. "You want to come don't you? We're gonna go play in the field with the other kids," she said, turning back to Shannon.

Tony took another slow bite of hot dog and concentrated on chewing. He really didn't want to go to the field. He hoped it would start to rain again. Yesterday it had rained and Shannon said that he and Kelly had to stay inside. His leg was hurting, and he didn't really feel like running. But he also didn't want to make Kelly mad.

Kelly watched impatiently as Tony slowly ate his hot dog. "Why are you eating so slow Tony?" Kelly asked after several minutes. Tony frowned at her and set his hot dog down.

"That's enough Kelly," Shannon said. "Why don't you go find something else to do and let Tony finish eating?"

Kelly looked at Tony for a long moment as he took another bite of hot dog. "Ok," she said nodding. "Tony we will talk after you finish eating and decide ok?"

Tony nodded and watched Kelly leave the room. Shannon smiled and shook her head. Tony was eating slower and slower, she noticed. "Do you want to go outside Tony?"

Tony shrugged. "If Kelly wants me to, then I will go," he said softly.

Shannon sat down in the seat that Kelly had vacated. "Kelly always has a plan, Tony, and sometimes she doesn't realize that others don't think her idea sounds like as much fun as she thinks it does, or that others might have their own ideas. She's very used to being the only child here, and she wants to be sure you are included. But if you don't want to go outside, that's ok. We can tell her that."

Tony nodded his head. "Ok," he said softly. He took another bite of hot dog.

The backdoor opened and Jethro stepped inside. "I hate mowing grass," he grumbled. He was covered in grass clippings and was very sweaty. Jethro looked at Tony and made a silly face and Tony's eyes widened before he grinned.

"You look like a somp monster!" Tony giggled.

Jethro glanced at Shannon, confusion on his face. _Somp monster?_

Shannon smiled. "Tony's right Jethro! You look just like that swamp monster we saw on the cartoon the other day," she chuckled. Her boys were so silly. She stood up and kissed Jethro and then wrinkled her nose. "You stink, Swamp Monster," she said, swatting at his chest lightly.

Jethro hung his head and sighed. "Going to take a shower," he said with a grin. "Don't wanna be a stinky swamp monster!" He disappeared down the hall and a moment later Tony and Shannon heard Kelly squeal, "Eew Daddy you stink get away!" followed by lots of giggling.

Once lunch was over Tony slid out of his chair and grunted softly. Shannon turned from the sink to glance at him. "You ok?"

"My leg hurts a little," Tony said.

"You haven't had any pain meds today. You want some?"

Tony thought for a moment then shook his head. "Not yet," he said. "Maybe later."

Kelly came running in and saw Tony was finished eating. "YAY You're done! Are you ready to go?"

Tony hesitated, remembering what Shannon said. "I don't think I want to go," Tony said softly.

Kelly's eyes widened. "But Tony you have to go! It will be so much fun! It will be boring if you stay here! Pleeeeeeease! Please come!"

Shannon joined Tony and Kelly and quickly noticed how uncomfortable Tony looked. He wasn't an assertive child, was really quite passive, and was easily bossed around by other children. "Kelly," she said gently, wrapping an arm around her daughter's shoulders and hugging her, "I heard Tony use his words," she said. "He said he doesn't want to go. What should you do?"

Kelly sighed and looked at Tony. He looked…well…nervous? Did he think she was mad at him? "Tony you don't have to go if you don't want to," Kelly said reluctantly. "But I think you'd have fun."

Tony nodded. "My leg hurts some," he told his sister.

She nodded. "I'm sorry Tony," Kelly said. "Maybe if it quits hurting you could come play?"

"Maybe," Tony said.

"Now Kelly I want you to play nice with the other children," Shannon said. "Make sure you stay out of the mud, and be home in time for dinner."

"Ok Mom!" Kelly hugged Shannon. "Bye Tony!" She waved and ran for the door where she stopped and looked back. "You sure you don't want to come?"

Tony nodded. "I sure." Kelly nodded and was gone.

xxx

It was not uncommon in the neighborhood to have new children around. People were forever moving in and out of base housing, and no one really gave a second thought to meeting new people or accepting them into the neighborhood. When Kelly had first taken Tony out to play, the other kids were quiet at first, somehow sensing that Tony was different, but were nice and included him in their play. Since that time several of the kids had moved away and several new kids had moved in.

It was one of the new kids that Kelly first laid eyes on when she got to the playing field that day. And what she saw did not make her happy.

Because of Tony's leg injuries, his gait was…different. Some days he could barely walk, some days his leg dragged behind him slightly, other days when he wore his brace he just had a pronounced limp. As Kelly approached the group of children—all of whom were laughing—she saw one of the new kids in the neighborhood, in the center of the group, pretending to walk and talk like Tony, and waves of anger washed over her.

"Hey I-I'ssss Tooooooony," the chubby kid said, drawing laughter from everyone around him. He dragged his leg awkwardly and stumbled slightly, causing the other kids to laugh harder—they'd all seen Tony do the exact same thing on numerous occasions.

Kelly watched in horror as the other kids cackled in laughter and the boy in the middle made fun of _her. little. brother. _She looked around at her friends—well she thought they were her friends…and suddenly she was very glad Tony had decided to stay home.

Suddenly the chubby little brat crashed right into her. "O-o-oohhhh I-I'sssss sowwwwy," the little boy said, forgetting that Tony was Kelly's brother. All he knew was _that_ girl wasn't laughing like the other kids.

"Why are you making fun of my brother," Kelly snarled.

The chubby kid—whose name was Griffin—stopped and backed up a step. "Sorry," he said lamely.

Kelly was not satisfied. She marched right up to Griffin and got into his personal space. "My brother already had a lotta people be mean to him," Kelly said. "He don't need idiots like you making it worse! He can't help the way he walks and he don't talk like a baby!"

Griffin smiled. "What are ya gonna do about it?" His voice took on a taunting tone. "You gonna sic your brother Toooooooony on me?" He danced around a little bit, dragging a leg along, making fun of her brother again like it was the funniest joke in the world.

Kelly saw red and before she thought better of it, she pounced right on the kid, knocking him to the ground. The gasp of the children surrounding the scuffle drew the attention of a couple of the moms standing at the other side of the field talking. They quickly came over to see what was happening and their eyes widened at the scene.

Kelly Gibbs was on top of Griffin St. James and had him by the front of his shirt. His nose was bloody and he might have a black eye by day's end. "YOU LEAVE MY BROTHER ALONE YOU IDIOT!" She was screaming at the kid who was now crying.

"What in the world is going on here?"

"MY BROTHER IS THE NICEST KID I EVER MET AND YOU ARE NOT GONNA MAKE FUN OF HIM! HE CAN'T HELP THE WAY HE WALKS AND HE CAN'T HELP HE TALKS FUNNY! YOU LEAVE HIM ALONE OR ELSE!"

"Kelly Gibbs what in the world are you doing? Get off of Griffin! What is going on?"

Kelly turned around to see her best friend Maddie Tyler's mom looking at her in horror. Suddenly overcome with a different emotion, tears began streaming down Kelly's face and she stood up. "Griffin was making fun of Tony—the way he walks and the way he talks," she said mournfully. "He's the best little brother I could have ever found though, and I don't think people should make fun of him! He can't help he's different!"

Mrs. Tyler looked at her daughter. "Is that what happened?"

Maddie nodded. Mrs. Tyler looked at her daughter a little harder. "And were you laughing?"

Maddie's eyes were on the ground. "Yes ma'am," she muttered. "He looked so silly, it was funny."

"But you knew who he was making fun of?"

"He told everyone that he was making fun of Tony."

Kelly began to cry harder. It broke her heart that people were mean to her brother. She adored Tony, and would do anything to protect him.

Maddie's mother hugged Kelly and tried to stop her crying, while Mrs. Peterson, the other mom Mrs. Tyler was talking to, helped Griffin up off the ground. "That's going to be quite the black eye," she said softly. "Come on, I'll take you home." She glanced at the group. "Perhaps you should all run along home now. It looks like it might rain anyway." The kids quickly scattered.

"Kelly I know what Griffin did must have upset you, but you know better than to beat someone up! And you were sitting on him! He couldn't get away!"

"I know Mrs. Tyler," Kelly said, "That was kinda the whole point of me sitting on him."

"Let's go home. We'll tell your mother what happened."

Kelly stopped dead in her tracks. "Do we have to?" She stared at the woman in horror.

Mrs. Tyler nodded. "Oh yes. You gave Griffin a black eye and a bloody nose. We absolutely have to tell your mother. Come on Maddie."

Kelly hung her head, and followed her friend and her friend's mom down the road to her house.

She was going to be in _so_ much trouble.

xxx

Little Tony had dozed off on the couch watching TV. He loved to watch episodes of Magnum PI. Shannon finally made him take some painkillers, and this afternoon was kind of lazy anyway. His leg didn't hurt so much if he didn't move, and he was snuggled up with Jethro on the couch. Jethro had Tony's head on his leg, and was rubbing his back. Little Tony was sound asleep.

A sudden knock at the door caused him to stir but Jethro quickly shushed him back down. Shannon motioned them to relax as she moved towards the door. She glanced out the window and frowned when she saw Myra and Maddie Tyler, and a very upset looking Kelly at the door. She glanced at Jethro and opened the door. Jethro carefully slid out from under Tony when he saw who it was.

Kelly rushed in the house and all but climbed Jethro, burying her face in his neck and sobbing. Jethro wrapped his arms around his sweet baby girl and hugged her. "Hey," he said softly. "What is it?"

"Shannon something…happened…over in the field today," Myra said.

"No please don't tell her! I'm sorry," Kelly pleaded, still crying.

"Hey take it easy Kelly shhhh, we'll sort it out," Jethro said softly, stroking her auburn hair gently.

"It seems there was a child in the group who thought it would be funny to make fun of Tony," Myra said in a low voice, after making sure Tony was asleep on the couch.

Shannon's eyes widened and she stared at her friend. "Making fun of him _how_," she asked.

"It was Griffin and he was walking funny and dragging his leg around, and he was talking slowly and saying things wrong like Tony does," Kelly said. Anger crossed her features.

The instant Jethro saw the expression on Kelly's face and heard the tone in her voice, he knew exactly what had happened.

"What happened next Kelly," Jethro said. He still sounded gentle, but there was some steel in his voice that hadn't been there a moment ago.

"I got mad," Kelly said, resting her chin on Jethro's shoulder.

"I heard several of the children begin gasping and the chatter got louder. I was across the field talking to Tara's mom, and we heard the noise and went to see what was going on."

Shannon turned to Kelly. "And what was going on then Kelly?"

Kelly looked at her mom, and was still so angry about it. "I was teaching that stupid boy a lesson," she said belligerently, as if daring someone to punish her for it.

Jethro snorted and looked at Myra. "What's the damage," he asked.

Myra sighed. "Black eye and a bloody nose. She was sitting on him so he couldn't get away."

"Kelly Elizabeth Gibbs!" Shannon's voice rose and Jethro shot her a look that told her not to wake up Tony. He didn't need to hear about this yet.

Though he secretly wanted to high five his daughter and praise her for a job well done, he bit his lip and schooled his features into a calm mask. "Kelly," he said softly, his voice just above a whisper, "I know you know that we don't hit people."

"But Daddy you didn't see what he was doing! He was making Tony look like a complete retard and he's not! He can't help that he walks different or that no one ever taught him to talk right! Griffin is stupid," Kelly ranted.

"That's enough," Shannon said firmly. She turned back to Myra. "Thanks for bringing her home. I'll call you later ok."

"Sure Shan," Myra said. She leaned forward and put her ear close to her friend's so that only Shannon could hear her words. "Go easy on her—she didn't do anything that we wouldn't have wanted to do." Myra raised back up with a wink and looked at Maddie. "Come on Maddie. You're going to time out too. You know better than to laugh at other people like that."

Maddie grumbled something as Shannon closed the door and turned her attention on her very spirited, very protective, seven year old. "Let's go into the kitchen so we can talk," Jethro suggested. "Tony's resting and if we talk here we'll wake him up."

xxx

In the kitchen, Shannon motioned for Kelly to sit at the table. "Now Kelly," Shannon said, forcing herself to remain calm. "I'd like you to tell me facts. Tell me _exactly _what happened. I want to know what Griffin actually said and what Griffin actually did."

Kelly took a deep breath. "He was walking funny and dragging his leg like Tony sometimes does when he gets tired," Kelly said. "And while he was walking around he kept saying 'I'sssss Toooooooony,' like that," Kelly said, imitating what Griffin had done.

Jethro's face darkened with anger.

"And then he crashed into me and I told him not to make fun of my brother. So then he started doing it even more," Kelly said. "And I got so mad! And then I started hitting him and yelling at him."

There was a noise from the hall and then Tony slowly made his way into the kitchen, rubbing his eyes sleepily. "I waked up," he said with a grin.

Jethro smiled and held out an arm to beckon him over. "Hey Tony," he said. "Have a good nap?"

Tony nodded, still sleepy thanks to the medicine, and climbed into Jethro's lap and laid his head on Jethro's shoulder. "What you doing?"

Shannon glanced at Tony. "Kelly got into some trouble today at the field and we were discussing it," she said softly.

Tony raised his head and his eyes widened. "Kelly is getting into trouble?"

"Yep," Jethro said. Kelly visibly deflated.

Tony stared at his sister. She was larger than life, invincible, nothing touched her. "What did you do?" His voice held just a tiny note of awe in it, and Jethro couldn't help but smile. These two were going to be hell on wheels when they got older.

"There was some people being mean," Kelly said, intentionally not telling Tony what the kids were doing. "And one person was being really mean, so I hit him," Kelly said. "And I yelled at him."

Tony's eyes rounded. He looked at Shannon and Jethro. "You gonna whip Kelly?" His voice was small, and tinged with fear.

Jethro shook his head. "Nope," he said. "Remember we told you we've never whipped Kelly before. We're never gonna whip you, and that isn't going to change," Jethro said firmly.

"You gonna lock her in a basement?"

Kelly's eyes widened, but Jethro shook his head. "Nope."

"Closet?"

Jethro shook his head again. "Nope."

Tony thought for a moment. "What you gonna do?"

Jethro turned to Shannon. They stared at each other for a minute before Shannon nodded. "Go big or go home," she told her husband.

Jethro nodded and looked at Kelly. "Ok Kelly. Here's your punishment. It will last for two weeks. For two weeks you will go to school, and you will come home. You may do your homework, and you may read books. You may draw or color pictures. You may play if Tony invites you to play. You will not be attending dance practice. You will not be going outside to play. You will not be visiting the field. There will be no television, no computer games, no dollhouse. You are grounded. We would have made it for longer, but you were defending…" Jethro paused, and nearly kicked himself. "You were defending something you care about," he said. "That is a good thing to do, but we will be having several discussions on the appropriate way to do that, should the need arise again."

Kelly looked like her world had ended. She looked so sad! Tears filled her eyes and rolled down her cheeks, but she sniffed and nodded, pushing down her tears. "Ok," she said. She stood up. "But if it happens again I don't promise not to do it again."

Kelly turned around and left the room and Tony slid down off Jethro's lap. "Where ya off to buddy?" Jethro asked him.

"The couch," Tony said with a yawn. "I wish I could watch more TV."

"Tony you can watch TV," Jethro said. "You aren't in trouble."

Tony nodded. "It would be not very nice of me," the child explained, "for me to watch when Kelly doesn't get to." He turned and left the room, leaving a speechless Jethro and Shannon behind.

"That boy," Shannon said, shaking her head. "What are we going to do with him?"

Jethro smirked and chuckled. "Love him?" he asked.

Shannon smiled and nodded. "Sounds like a plan to me. We have good kids Jethro."

He kissed her cheek. "That we do, Mrs. Gibbs. That we do."

TBC…


	11. Birthday1

**Note:** If you have constructive criticism, that's awesome! If you want to be snarky and rude-keep it to yourself. Thanks.  
><strong>Note<strong>: Again, I know nothing about California laws regarding adoption or custody. That information is tricky to find. Assume creative license for any mistakes please. Thanks!  
><em><strong>This chapter is written in memory of a dear and departed friend whose birthday was April 5 (it'll make sense when you read). Thanks as always to GotGoats my wonderfully, awesome, fantastic, beta! Love ya dude! Pbbbbbtt<strong>_

**Daddy's Boy  
><strong>**Chapter 11—Birthday 1**

That evening after dinner, Jethro and Shannon were playing a rousing game of Chutes and Ladders with Kelly and Tony when there was a knock on the Gibbs' front door. The knock sounded quite loud thanks to the conspicuously quiet television in the living room with them. Shannon looked at Jethro who shrugged. "I wonder who that could be," she murmured, rising to go answer it. The others watched from the floor, waiting to see who it was.

Kelly's nostrils flared in anger when she saw Griffin St. James standing at her door with his mother. The St. Jameses were relatively new to the neighborhood; they'd only moved in right after Christmas. Kelly and Griffin hadn't gotten along from the very beginning.

"Hi Pam," Shannon said softly. "Griffin."

"We're sorry to bother you," Pam St. James began uneasily. She saw the angry expression on Kelly's face. "But Griffin has something he would like to say to Tony and Kelly."

Tony didn't understand why Griffin would want to talk to him. He'd never been nice to Tony, had always said mean things to him, frequently bumped him trying to knock him down when no one was looking. Tony didn't like him. He didn't even want him to come to his front door.

Griffin stepped forward and the light showed a very black eye and the swollen remnants of the bloodied nose Kelly had given him earlier in the day. Tony's eyes widened at the sight of him, and he remembered looking like that several different times after his mean-daddy got angry at him. He wondered if Griffin's daddy had hurt him.

"'m sorry," Griffin mumbled, staring at his feet, toeing the concrete step nervously.

Kelly was on her feet in an instant and racing towards him. "You _should_ be sorry," she snapped, crossing her arms. "You had no good reason to talk about my brother that way!"

Shannon put a hand on her daughter's shoulder. "Kelly don't you think you should apologize to Griffin for hurting him?"

Kelly shook her head stubbornly. "Nope."

Shannon raised an eyebrow. "And why is that?"

Kelly looked at Griffin, then her mom, then over to Tony and Jethro still on the floor. She looked back to Shannon. "Because I'm not sorry," she said. "And you and Daddy taught me that I shouldn't lie, so for me to say I'm sorry when I'm not would be telling a lie. He shouldn'ta talked about Tony that way, and if he does it again I'll give him another black eye," she growled, looking at Griffin. Her fists balled up at the thought of it.

Shannon looked at Pam St. James, perplexed but unable to contradict her daughter's words. She couldn't force Kelly to apologize if she wasn't sorry. That would be wrong too.

Behind her, Jethro smirked and looked down at the carpet. _Attagirl Kelly. Damn clever kid you are._

Tony scooted closer to Jethro. Jethro glanced at him and saw that Tony's eyes were full of fear and when he glanced up at Griffin, he saw the malice in the child's gaze. This kid did not like Tony. Jethro's eyes narrowed. "Griffin? Ya look mad, bud. What's up?"

"It's all his stupid fault," Griffin snapped. "He walks around like that and everyone thinks he's so cute and sweet, but then when I do it everyone gets mad at me. He's just a stupid baby."

"Griffin!" His mother scolded, but the damage was done.

Shannon grabbed Kelly before she could launch herself at Griffin and scratch his eyes out. Jethro rose to his feet and moved to the door. He picked Kelly up, even though she was kicking and screaming, struggling and trying to get away so she could attack the boy at her door.

Pam was stunned. "I'm so sorry," she whispered. "I didn't…I mean I didn't know that he was doing this! He told us that Kelly had gotten angry at him over something he'd said, but he didn't say what." She looked at Shannon who was staring daggers at her little boy. "Please rest assured we _will_ be dealing with his behavior. And we just adore Tony," she said softly. "He's such a sweet boy. I think maybe the moving around has been hard for Griffin. He's had to leave so many friends behind."

"Well he won't be making any friends here if he keeps acting like that," Jethro said gently. "I'm sure he is a good boy. Sometimes these moves are hard on the kids."

Tony had worked his way to his feet. He came and stood between Jethro and Shannon, and Kelly instantly stopped kicking her feet. She didn't want to risk hurting Tony at all. Tony looked at Griffin for a long moment, then he looked up at Griffin's mother. "Did I do bad?" his voice was barely a whisper.

"No sweetheart," Pam said softly. "No you didn't do anything wrong." She looked up at Jethro and Shannon and Kelly. "I'm so sorry. I wouldn't have even brought him over if I had known it would stir up such anger in your little Kelly. Please forgive me. I'm so sorry for his behavior."

"It's alright," Shannon said. "No harm done, we tried. That's all we can do." The Gibbses told Griffin and his mother goodnight and Shannon closed the door behind them.

The happy mood was broken. Kelly was still breathing hard, still angry. Shannon was just dumbfounded, not sure what to do or make of the situation. Tony was suspiciously quiet and Jethro was watching him to see how he reacted.

"Jethro," Tony said, a few moments later.

"Yeah bud?"

"Do Griffin daddy hurt him too?" Tony's voice was quiet, his eyes on his lap. He remembered the bruising on the older boy's face. It made his tummy ache to think that other kids got hurt the way he did.

Jethro saw the expression on Kelly's face change from angry to almost ill looking. "No Tony," Jethro said softly. "Griffin's daddy didn't hurt him."

"How he get those circles on his eye and that blood on his nose?"

Kelly stepped forward. "I did it Tony," Kelly said quietly. "I hit Griffin. He was saying mean things about you and I hit him to make him stop."

Tony stared at Kelly. Part of him was in awe of her for being so brave, but part of him was scared she would hurt him too. "You gonna hit me too?" his voice was soft and defeated sounding.

Kelly hugged Tony and he flinched. "No Tony," Kelly said softly as her brother relaxed into the hug. "I'll never hurt you. I promise."

She looked up at her parents. "But that mean old Griffin better stay out of my way and leave my Tony alone!"

Jethro and Shannon both silently agreed.

xxx

Jethro and Shannon were plotting and scheming. Their little boy's birthday was in just a few days, and they wanted it to be perfect. They'd already ordered a cake, gifts were being purchased, Jethro was finding a good place to have a birthday party, and Shannon was in touch with the daycare center, making sure everyone in Tony's class—including his beloved teachers Miss Nicole and Miss Ashley—were invited. The party was to be held on the upcoming Saturday, and though it hadn't been the full two weeks since Kelly had been grounded for the events in the field, they were going to ease up on her punishment in honor of Tony's sixth birthday.

Shannon came in from work to find Jethro already cooking dinner, Kelly laying on the couch reading a book, and Tony lying in the floor surrounded by colored pencils. She tweaked Kelly's toe and winked at her, stopped to look at Tony's picture, and then made her way to the kitchen.

"Hi babe!" Jethro said, all smiles. He'd had the day off, thanks to another guard duty rotation earlier in the week. Shannon hugged him and he kissed the side of her head. "How was your day?"

Shannon let out a long breath. "Long, but not bad. Glad it's over. Glad to be home with you guys," she said with a smile.

"We're glad you're home Momma," Jethro said. "I'm making dinner look!" He lifted the pan and Shannon glanced at the contents. She raised her eyebrows to Jethro. "What," he said. "You don't like my cooking?"

"I love that you're cooking," Shannon said. She grabbed the wooden spoon off the counter and poked at the pot. "Is this vegetable soup?"

"Yep," Jethro said with a smile, very proud of himself.

Shannon tasted it. It was surprisingly very good. "This is great honey," she said, recovering the pot. "Thank you for cooking!"

"Least I could do…sat around here like a bum all day," Jethro chuckled. "But I did take care of the thing we were talking about."

Shannon smiled. "You did? What'd you decide on?"

Jethro lowered his voice and murmured softly in her ear. Shannon smiled when she heard the plan he'd come up with. Yes, that would be perfect. Tony would love it.

xxx

Saturday morning, Jethro woke up and tiptoed through the house. It was still dark outside. He quietly dressed and then went for a run. As he ran he thought of the phone call he'd gotten from their lawyer yesterday. It seemed that DiNozzo Senior had agreed to sign over his parental rights to the Gibbses, on one condition. If they legally adopted him, Tony absolutely must keep the DiNozzo name. As Jethro's feet pounded the pavement in a quick rhythm, he fumed and huffed over this condition.

Jethro wanted Tony to be able to completely turn his back on that part of his life. He wanted to give Tony the choice on whether or not to keep the name or take on the Gibbs name. Jethro told the lawyer this but the man had explained that sometimes there was no choice. If they wanted to adopt Tony and be more than just his legal guardians, they would have to agree to the conditions set by the biological parent. The Gibbs' lawyer did hint at the fact that they could probably change the name after the adoption was final, but until that point it would be easier to just agree to whatever Senior wanted, as long as it was within reason and not detrimental to Tony's well being.

Jethro continued to run, even as sweat ran down into his eyes, and debated on what he should do. He wanted Tony to be their son. Permanently without any chance of someone snatching him away.

He didn't think any of them could handle that.

xxx

Once he got back home, the sun was just beginning to appear on the horizon. Jethro entered the house quietly. It was still early. Just as he started up the stairs he heard a loud thump followed by a startled sounding cry of pain from Tony's room. He sprinted up the stairs and burst into the room.

Tony was lying on the floor in a crumpled heap, blinking and trying to figure out what had happened. Jethro dropped to his knees at Tony's side.

"Hey it's ok shhhh c'mere," he cooed softly, scooping his boy up. "What happened?"

Tony blinked up at Jethro and the man thought he saw terror fading from his child's eyes. "I fall out of bed," Tony said softly.

"Did you hurt yourself?"

Tony thought for a moment then shook his head. "No," he said quietly. "Just scare me."

Jethro smiled and ruffled the boy's hair softly. "Wanna go back to sleep?"

Fear flashed through Tony's eyes and for just a moment he looked absolutely terrified. "No," he whispered. "But I won't wake up Kelly or Shannon. I can be good. Good and quiet."

"C'mon," Jethro said with a smile. He stood up and carried the little boy into the bathroom with him. "You can help me shave."

"What's shave?" Tony asked as Jethro plopped him gently on the bathroom counter.

Jethro chuckled. He pulled out his shaving kit and handed Tony a shaving handle that had no blade in it. He picked up his own blade and the can of shaving cream. "When boys get old like me they grow hair on their faces. Some people don't like it. Your mommy hates it. I have to keep it cut short because I am in the marines, so part of my uniform is keeping my face neat," Jethro told him. He smiled. "Hold out your hand," he said softly.

Tony held out his hand slowly, cautiously excited but unsure of what to expect. His eyes widened when he got a hand full of white foam.

"Now rub it on your face like this," Jethro said, demonstrating. "But listen—we only do this when I am here to do it with you ok?"

Tony nodded solemnly, and he slowly started rubbing shaving cream onto his face. Jethro chuckled and smeared some of the foamy stuff over Tony's upper lip and on his chin.

"Now you take the razor like this," Jethro said, showing him how to hold it. "Yours doesn't have a blade in it, but mine does. This will be good practice for you—get good at it now and you won't have to worry about cutting yourself when you get older. Then you just run it up like this, down like this, nice and easy, not too fast, not too slow…"

Shannon poked her head in a moment later to see that both of her (silly) boys' faces were covered in shaving cream. Jethro had it on his forehead, Tony had some in his ears, both were laughing hysterically and neither one was shaving—which was probably smart.

"What in the world? You two are so silly!" Shannon exclaimed, laughing at Jethro and Tony. "Oh don't move I have to get the camera!" Shannon disappeared and a moment later came back, holding up the camera. "Get in close to each other," she directed. Jethro and Tony looked at each other and giggled again.

"Say cheese!"

Tony smiled wide, showing off his foam covered upper lip and his missing tooth. "CHEESY!" Shannon smiled. Even Jethro was smiling in the picture and he _never_ smiled for photographs—assuming you could get him to take one to begin with.

"This one is going in the album," Shannon said. "It's adorable."

xxx

That morning at the breakfast table, Tony sat patiently, hands folded politely in his lap. He'd carefully and meticulously set the table for breakfast. That was his chore—to set the table for meals—and he was very good at it. Shannon was busy fixing the "Saturday Morning Special" –blueberry pancakes, and Jethro and Kelly were pouring up glasses of milk and pulling the butter out of the refrigerator and the syrup out of the cabinet.

Tony had a hard time carrying things around because he never knew when his leg was going to buckle and he was going to need one or both hands to catch himself.

Once breakfast was served and everyone was eating Shannon turned to Tony. "I have a question," she said gently.

Tony took a big bite of pancakes and looked at her. "Whmph dampf"

Shannon didn't say a word, merely raised an eyebrow. Tony quickly chewed and swallowed his bite of pancakes, and took a sip of milk. "I sorry," he said contritely. "I don't mean ta be rude."

Shannon shook her head. "You're forgiven," she said with a grin. "Tony do you know what today is?"

Tony thought hard. They'd been learning days of the week in preschool, and he was certain he could come up with it. Let's see…today was an "at home" day, so that must mean it's the weekend…Weekends only happened on Saturday and Sunday. He'd gone to school the day before…

"Sarday?" Tony said softly.

Shannon smiled. "Yes that's right! It is Saturday! This is a special Saturday Tony. Do you know what's special about it?"

Tony's eyes rounded and he shook his head.

"This Saturday is special because today is April 5!"

Tony didn't react…didn't respond…he didn't know what he should say. Shannon's eyes narrowed just slightly and she glanced at Jethro.

"Do you know what's special about April 5?"

Tony shook his head slowly, and his gaze dropped to his lap. Was it something he should know? Had he forgotten something important? Was he going to get in trouble for not knowing?

"Tony today is special because it's your birthday. April 5 is Tony's birthday!" Shannon said with a sad, but patient smile.

Tony blinked. His birthday? He'd seen other people have birthdays…kids in his school, Shannon's birthday was back during the winter…but he hadn't ever had a birthday before.

"What's a birthday for?" Tony asked. "What's that mean?"

Jethro felt the lump forming in his throat and a quick glance to his wife told him that he would be the one doing the talking.

"Well your birthday…that's the day you were born…the day you came out of your mother's tummy," Jethro explained. "And it's a day that people do fun things on—I have a birthday, Kelly has one, Mommy has one, and you have one."

"Even Grandpa Jack? A-and Grand-a-ma?"

Jethro nodded. "Yep everybody has a birthday."

Tony was quiet for a minute. "How come I never had a birthday before?"

Jethro rubbed a hand over his mouth. "Well Tony…every year you've been alive…you've had a birthday son," he said softly. "But…for whatever reason…no one—"

"No one loved me a nough to tell me I had one too," Tony whispered sadly.

Jethro and Shannon nodded sadly in agreement, because that, really, was the truth.

"BUT!" Jethro piped up and his eyes twinkled. Tony looked at him curiously. "We are going to make up for that today!"

Tony blinked. "How we gonna do that?"

Shannon smiled. "We're going to have a birthday party today! It's your special day!"

"What's a birthday party?"

"Oh my gosh Tony it's so much fun you are going to love it so much!" Kelly exclaimed. "There's cake and ice cream and I always have hot dogs at my birthday parties because they are my favorite, and you get presents and you play games and you have all of your friends at your party—it is the most fun day ever!"

Tony stared at Kelly in shock. "More fun than Christmas?"

Kelly thought for a moment. "It's kinda like Christmas—only it's just for you. You're the only one who will get presents!"

Tony's face paled. "Why only me? Everybody should get presents. I not special."

Shannon hugged Tony. "You are special Little One. And today is only one way we can show you just how special you are. It's going to be great. I think you'll like it."

TBC…


	12. Birthday2

**Author's Note:** Sorry for the delay—got a bit caught up in No Chains Holding Me and couldn't get Big Tony to leave me alone long enough to play with Little Tony!  
><em><strong>Thanks as always to Gotgoats my wonderful beta—who even betas for me while she's on the road and moving cross country. You are wonderful! Love ya dude! Pbbbbbbbbbbbbbt<strong>_

**Daddy's Boy  
><strong>**Chapter 12: Birthday 2**

Little Tony rode in the backseat of the car, wondering where Jethro was taking him. Kelly and Shannon had left earlier to go "set up for Tony's birthday party" and Jethro and Tony would arrive closer to time for the party to begin. His new parents decided it might be good for him to have a short nap before the party. Tony had no trouble falling asleep—he wasn't excited about the party because he didn't yet understand that he should be. He'd fallen asleep on the couch with his head on Jethro's leg and his Jethro running fingers through his hair. That was Tony's favorite way to go to sleep.

"You alright back there?" Jethro glanced at him in the rearview mirror. He was so excited about Tony's party he was about to burst, but Tony was being very quiet—and had been for the entire day.

Tony looked at him and smiled. "I ok," he said, nodding. "Where we go?"

"We're going to your birthday party! Mommy and Kelly are already there, so we will find them."

Tony nodded and thought for a minute. "Have cake?"

Jethro nodded, "Absolutely. I think you'll like it too."

Tony's eyes widened. "I get to eat it?"

Jethro blinked. "It's your birthday cake Buddy," he said softly. "Of course you get to eat it. Why would you think we wouldn't let you have any?"

"When Miss Anne made me go live with Stacy and Ted…Sammy had a birthday party," Tony said softly. "They told me I not a pposed a eat cake. They say it for family and friends only..."

Anger filled Jethro and he remembered the conversation he'd had on the phone with Stacy the afternoon Tony had been brought back to Jethro and Shannon. He pushed down his emotions to reassure his boy. "Well…we are not like them at all," Jethro reassured him. "And this is YOUR birthday cake! So you will get a bigger piece than everyone if you want it!"

Tony's eyes flickered with surprise and excitement, but his facial expression didn't change. He didn't dare hope for Jethro's words to be true, even though he'd never lied to Tony before.

Jethro turned his attention back to his driving, swearing to make this the most perfect birthday any kid had ever had in the history of birthdays.

xxx

Tony's eyes widened when he saw where they were going. They had driven past this building many times and Tony always secretly wished to go inside and see what was there though he would have never asked to do so. Through the windows he could just barely see as they drove past, but what he saw looked like so much fun. Tony couldn't read the colorful letters over the door, but thought they must say something fun because the letters were all squiggly and ziggy-zagged and different colors.

Jethro unsnapped his seat belt and walked around the car to Tony's door. He carefully helped Tony get down from the back of the tall SUV and supported his elbow for a moment until he had his balance. Tony blinked in the sunlight and stared up at the letters on the building.

"What it say?"

"It says 'Kidz Party Zone' Tony. This is where we're having your party."

Tony glanced around and saw Shannon's car there. He grinned up at Jethro. He was really having a birthday party?

"Let's go inside, yeah?" Jethro held out his hand.

Tony grabbed it and nodded. He didn't know what to expect, but so far it looked like it was going to be a lot of fun. Tony felt the excitement fluttering in his tummy and wondered what this would be like…he wondered what was on the inside of this building…he wondered if he would like the taste of his birthday cake.

"Hi Tony!" Kelly ran over to him, a huge smile on her face. She was wearing some kind of funny hat on her head. It was bright yellow and looked like a helmet. It looked…just like…Tony's eyes widened when he recognized it. It looked like the hats the men who drove the big dump trucks were wearing on the road the other day! He looked up at Jethro who was smiling. Kelly held a hat out to Tony. "This is your birthday hat! Here! Put it on!" His hat was orange—the color the bossman wears. Did that mean he was the boss?

Jethro knelt in front of him and straightened his hat for him. "There ya go Bud," he said. "Ready to go see your party?"

Tony nodded, still dumbfounded by the entire concept. Jethro stood up and led Tony to a gate where an employee stood holding a wristband. "My wife is here already," Jethro explained. "We need two wristbands just alike with matching stamps please."

The teenager working there nodded and turned, waving Shannon over. Shannon came over with a curious look on her face. "I need to scan your wristband ma'am…have to make sure we get the right code on all of the wristbands…wouldn't want you guys to not be able to leave with your kids…that'd be embarrassing," he chuckled nervously.

Part of the Kidz Party Zone's security to ensure children's safety required adult guardians accompanying children to wear wristbands with codes on them. The children with the adults were required to have their hands stamped with ink that is only visible under a black light, and the codes on the wristband were matched to the code stamped onto the children's hand. This prevented any unwanted intruders to the Party Zone, and required that any adult leaving with children have a wristband in order to be let out of the gate with a child. Every person was checked at the gate; no exceptions were made. The extra efforts made toward safety was one of the many things about this place that drew Jethro to it when he selected the venue for Tony's birthday. After the scare at the daycare center last Christmas, the Gibbses took no chances with their children.

As the teen stamped his hand, Tony stared in wonder at the table Shannon had been standing near. There was something yellow wrapped around the area…Tony couldn't read the words on it, but he remembered seeing the yellow stuff like that wrapped around the house the night Mama died. He wondered what this was…what that yellow stuff was for…he didn't see anybody that looked like his mama had…his hand unconsciously reached up and snagged Jethro's pocket and he pressed slightly closer to his leg. The teen was still strapping Jethro's wristband on, but Jethro reached down with his free hand and ran his fingers through Tony's hair. "Ok Tony?"

Tony nodded, vowing to be brave. "I ok," he said softly.

Jethro held up his arm with the wristband on it for Tony to see. "Gotta get you stamped and then we can go in," he smiled at the little boy. Jethro held Tony's hand up and the teenager stamped Tony's hand.

"Is it your birthday little man?" The kid suddenly turned to Tony with a huge smile and Tony shrank back against Jethro's leg a little more. When he didn't answer, Jethro nudge him just a teeny bit and Tony nodded slowly. "Well I hope you have a fantastic party!" Tony stared at the teenager as though he'd grown another head. Why was he talking to him? Why so loud? Tony didn't even know him—he wasn't supposed to talk to strangers!

Jethro saved him, feeling Tony clinging a little tighter to the pocket of his khaki cargos. "Tony gets shy sometimes," he said gently. "I'm sure he'll have fun though. Tony? Can you say thank you?"

Tony shook his head no and buried his face in Jethro's leg. Oh he hoped Jethro wouldn't make him.

"It's alright little dude," the teenager said, backing off a bit. "I hope you have fun."

Tony looked up at him and managed a weak smile. The teenager smiled back and gave him a thumbs up. Jethro took Tony's hand and helped him through the gate and into the huge play area. Tony slowly turned around and glanced back at the teen, offering him a very shy thumbs up in return.

xxx

Tony stopped at the yellow tape surrounding their party area and stared hard at the words. He looked at the black letters on the yellow tape and then looked up at the "KIDZ PARTY ZONE" sign on the wall…it looked like the tape said almost the same thing as the wall…

"Jethro?"

Jethro was inside the yellow tape, oohing and ahhing over the box on the table, an excited grin on his face. He immediately looked up and saw Tony outside the tape. "Yeah Bud? What's up?"

"Do that say a same thing as a sign outside?" Tony asked softly pointing at the yellow tape.

Jethro smiled, proud of his son's reasoning skills. "Good work Tony! Yes, this tape here says 'Party Zone' on it. The sign outside says 'Kidz Party Zone.' Good reading!"

Tony beamed.

Jethro knelt and stepped back under the tape. "You wanna come see your cake?"

Tony shook his head. He was still afraid it was some sort of cruel joke…but then he remembered Christmas…Christmas had been everything he could have dreamed of…he wondered if his birthday could be that magical.

Jethro reached out his hand to Tony. Tony shook his head and refused to cross the line of tape for fear of getting into trouble.

_**Flashback**_

_He knew what he saw…his father told him he should never tell anyone. Tony would get in trouble if he ever told what he saw that night._

_The police officers came and wrapped bright yellow tape around the whole yard and house._

"_Ya can't go past the tape kid," one of the police officers told him. "If ya go past it you'll get in trouble. This is a crime scene."_

_Tony nodded and didn't speak. He hadn't been told to talk, so he wasn't saying a word. He sat on the grass outside of the tape and looked up at his huge house that he hated so much. He was always afraid here. He wanted to run away._

_His father approached him, a furious look on his face. "Look what you did you little bastard! You did this! You! It's your fault!"_

_Behind his father, it looked like a bed on wheels was being pushed out of the house, but there was this weird black pouch-bag-looking thing on the bed. Tony sat in the cool night air on the ground behind the yellow tape, and wondered what was in the bag._

_**End Flashback**_

"I's a gonna get in trouble if I's cross a line," Tony stuttered out softly. He slowly dropped to the floor, sitting cross legged and staring up at the line of tape and the table. The yellow tape was wrapped around 4 pillars near the tables reserved for Tony's party.

Jethro looked at him sharply, noticing the sudden difference in his child's speech. The other children hadn't arrived yet. Jethro ducked back under the yellow tape and then sat on the floor next to Tony.

"Hey look here," Jethro said softly. Tony looked up at him sadly. "You ok?"

Tony looked at his lap. "I's sorry," he whispered.

"Ok, it's ok buddy calm down," Jethro soothed softly. He reached a hand out to run over Tony's back and frowned when Tony flinched. He hadn't really flinched away from Jethro like that in months. And he'd reverted back to his old speech patterns—something that only seemed to happen when he was upset or thinking about his life before he was found by the Gibbses.

Tony looked up at Jethro, tears filling his eyes. Tony was going to ruin everything—he was going to ruin his own birthday party! His lower lip quivered pitifully and Jethro scooped him up.

"Hey," he said softly, his words only for Tony's ears. "What's wrong buddy? Talk to Daddy."

"I a membered something," Tony said softly, trying to focus, trying to use his big boy words instead of talking like a baby. "Something bad."

Jethro hugged him and his cheek pressed into the top of his head. "Wanna talk about it?"

Tony shook his head and buried his face in Jethro's shoulder.

"Do you think maybe you should tell me about it?"

Tony shook his head again but didn't lift his face.

"Why not Tony?"

This time Tony did look up. "I promised not to tell. It's a secret," Tony said softly.

"Did someone ask you to keep a secret?"

Tony nodded. His gaze rested on his lap.

"Can you tell me who?"

Tony looked up at Jethro again. "My mean-daddy," he said softly, his voice just barely above a whisper.

Shannon came over, a concerned look on her face and bent over, putting her hands on her knees. "I need your help," she said softly to Tony. "Want to help me?"

"He says he just remembered something," Jethro said, giving her a meaningful glance.

Shannon looked even more concerned. "Tony? Sweetie what'd you remember?"

"I can't tell you," Tony whispered. "Promised not to tell."

"Do you have to keep it a secret to stay out of trouble? Or to keep someone else out of trouble?" Jethro asked softly. Shannon glanced up to see some of the children arriving.

"My mean-daddy say I get into trouble if I tell anybody."

"Would you get into trouble or would your mean-daddy get into trouble, Tony?" Jethro pressed gently.

Tony glanced at him, unsure. "I…I don't know," he whispered. "He only say I get into trouble. But I no do it. Mean-daddy do it. Can we still have my party?"

Jethro hugged him close and blinked down the moisture forming in his eyes. He looked at Shannon who was doing the same thing. What was Tony hiding for Senior? "Of course we can still have your party son," he whispered into Tony's ear. Tony nodded and hugged Jethro back. His fingers clung tightly to Jethro's shirt.

xxx

Before long, many of the children from Tony's class at school had arrived, along with his teachers, Miss Ashley and Miss Nicole. The anxiety from earlier quickly seemed to disappear (along with the yellow "party zone" tape Shannon had taken down) and now Tony was all smiles and giggles, enjoying his friends' company.

"Tony would you like to play first, then have cake, then open presents? Or do presents and cake first and then play later?"

Tony thought about it for a moment and looked around. The huge indoor playground looked so inviting: there were tunnels to crawl through, slides to go down, a ball pit to play and jump in, a huge place to climb the wall, and lots of mats which made the floor nice and soft in case he fell. He smiled up at Jethro. "I play first."

"Ok troops," Jethro said with a grin. "Tony says play first! Go for it! Go! Go! Go!"

The children took off with happy shrieks and laughter, one child hanging back a bit slower to wait for Tony as he headed for the playground behind all of his friends.

"Which kid is that?" Shannon asked, indicating the one waiting for Tony. Even Kelly had run ahead, caught up in her own excitement.

"That boy there? That's Scott Edwards. His daddy's an Aviation Supply Specialist on base. I think they live down the road from us."

The parents all sat around and talked, getting to know each other as the children played. The moms praised the Gibbses on their bravery to adopt a child—especially one as old as Tony—and the dads smiled and discussed the basketball playoffs.

Jethro was meticulous about watching for Tony in the climber. He knew his little leg had been hurting him some, and they'd given him some medicine earlier to hopefully help keep the pain to a minimum during his party. Tony was wearing his leg brace and they were all doing everything Dr. Trexler was recommending, but it was looking like surgery would be happening sometime in the next year for Tony's leg. There was a part of Jethro that hoped the surgery would happen sooner rather than later, just so Tony could quit hurting so badly.

Tony had carefully made his way to the top of the climber and looked out the mesh window to the floor below. His eyes widened when he realized how high he was and his breath quickened. How was he going to get down? He wasn't good at jumping, and while he was climbing he didn't really think about the fact that going up meant he was going to be high up off the floor…he shuddered as a memory coursed through him…he didn't want to remember that…not today…not ever…

Scott suddenly appeared beside him and looked out the window too. "Ooohh we're really high," he said, grinning wildly. He looked at Tony and saw how scared he looked. "Hey it's ok," he said softly. "It's ok to be scared."

Tony blinked and looked at Scott, trying to push down the memory he'd just had, but it kept fighting its way back to the surface.

_**Flashback**_

_They had gone on a trip, just Tony, Mama and Father. Earlier, Tony had fallen asleep and when he woke up Mama and Father were gone. Tony stayed in the room they were living in on their trip, not making any noise, just sitting on the couch, nice and calmly, patiently waiting for his parents to return._

_It felt like days before his parents returned. Tony had gotten up to go to the potty several times before his parents came back. He was so tired from sitting on the couch, and his tummy was rumbling because it was so hungry. Tony knew that if he was going to go to sleep he needed to get back under his bed…Father hated it when he had to put Tony to bed. Said it was hard to cram him under the bed when he was asleep, and said that he hated it when Tony woke up because then he was a crying, sniveling little bastard._

_Tony was sitting on the couch, swaying with sleepiness when he heard voices outside the door. Was that his Mama and Father? The door opened and in stumbled his giggling mother. It looked like she'd been drinking silly juice again. Father came in behind her and closed the door. He looked mad and Tony wondered if he'd done wrong somehow. He'd tried his best to be good—he'd been very quiet, very neat, hadn't made any messes, and had used the potty very carefully._

_His father lunged for him suddenly and picked him up by the front of his shirt, yanking him in close. Tony could smell the alcohol on his father's breath._

"_Where t'hell've you been? We fuckin told you to stay right wi'us and y'wandered off!"_

"_I's s-sorry F-father," Tony whimpered. He didn't mean to sleep through them leaving._

"_Sick of your disrespectful lazy ass," Tony's father roared, lunging towards the door to the porch. Senior yanked the door open and dragged Tony out on the porch. His father pushed him away suddenly, and Tony fell on his knees, facing the railing. His father grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and the waistband of his pants and lifted him up. Tony grabbed at the railing—he didn't like heights. He wasn't sure what his father was doing, but Tony suddenly found himself lifted above the railing and dangled over the other side._

_Tony screamed and his father shook him. "'f you scream I'll drop you," he warned._

_Their room faced the ocean and there was no one on the beach this late hour. No one could see Tony's peril._

_Tony closed his eyes and tried to relax, tried to quit struggling. _

"_ANTHONY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"_

_Tony opened his eyes and saw his mother standing in the doorway, hands on her hips, her features contorted in anger._

_His father suddenly pulled him back over the railing, but Tony's head smacked painfully on the large metal bar before he was dropped unceremoniously to the ground._

_The last thing he heard before the darkness claimed him was his mother's voice. "If you're going to kill him you can't make it so obvious!"_

_**End Flashback**_

"Tony? You ok?" Scott's voice sounded worried and he looked at his friend carefully. "You want me to go get your daddy?"

Tony shook his head and forced the scary thoughts down. "I don't like being so high up," Tony whispered.

"I will help you climb down," Scott said, holding out his hand. Tony was still scared, but he felt a little braver knowing his friend would help him.

"I scared I will fall," Tony said softly.

"Ya won't fall," Scott whispered back to him. "I won't let you."

"MOVE OUTTA THE WAY!" Natalie, a little girl in Tony's class yelled from behind them suddenly. Tony flinched hard and whimpered and Scott moved between his friend and the little girl with the curly, blond pigtails.

"LEAVE US ALONE!" Scott roared—as much as a five year old can roar.

Inside the tunnel, Natalie pushed past Scott who was shifted backwards suddenly and he landed right on Tony's bad leg.

Tony gasped in pain and his eyes widened as he looked at his friends.

Everybody in the tunnel froze. "Are you ok Tony?" Natalie asked softly.

Scott was scrambling to get off of his friend's leg. "I'm sorry Tony, I didn't mean to fall on you," the little boy said contritely.

Tony bent his leg back and forth slowly a couple of times. "I ok," he said. "I think I want down now."

"Are you scared Tony?" Natalie asked. She shifted so she was sitting like Tony was in the tunnel—sideways with her back rolled against the round side of the tunnel, her legs at awkward angles in front of her.

"I do not like being high up," Tony said softly. Scott shifted so he could sit by his friend too.

"We hafta go down the slide to get down," Scott informed Tony softly.

Natalie giggled. She loved the slide. Tony looked scared though, like he didn't want to do it. "Do you not like the slide?" she asked him.

Tony swallowed hard and shook his head nervously. "I only slide if Jethro catches me," he whispered. He really wasn't a fan of sliding boards, even if Jethro caught him. But that was the only way any of them had found to get him down one.

Natalie looked at Scott. "I go down first, and I go get Tony's daddy," she said. Scott nodded. He was behind Tony, so he'd have to climb over Tony if he wanted to go down first, and he didn't want to hurt his friend again.

Tony watched as Natalie raced off, crawling fast through the slightly inclined purple tunnel. He'd have to go up even _higher_ in order to get to the slide to go down, which meant he'd have to slide down even farther.

Tony groaned and thunked his head back against the side of the tunnel.

"Hey Tony?" Scott said next to him. He loved the slides and the tunnels, but his friend obviously didn't.

"Yeah?"

"After this you wanna go get inna ball pit? It's not high up."

Tony thought about it for a moment then smiled and nodded.

xxx

"Tony's Daddy! Tony's Daddy! Tony's Daddy!" Natalie came rushing up to the grownups out of breath from crawling so fast, sliding so far, and running all the way across the gym floor to the tables.

Jethro immediately perked up and met her before she was off the mats. "What is it? What's wrong?"

Tony-and-Scott-were-climbing-in-the-tunnel-and-I-wanted-to-go-faster-and-so-I-tried-to-crawl-over-them-and-Scott-fell-on-Tony's-leg-and-now-he's-scared-to-keep-going-and-wants-you-to-catch-him-at-the-bottom-of-the-slide! HURRY!" Natalie started running back for the tunnel, looking over her shoulder and feeling much better when she saw Tony's daddy following her.

Jethro raced after the little girl. He had no idea what she'd said—she'd spoken so fast that he could hardly understand a word she said. He had picked out the words "Tony" "leg" and "scared". That was enough for him.

"Tony said he'd slide if you caught him," Natalie said once they reached the bottom of the slide. She put her head in the tunnel. "TONY! YOUR DADDY GONNA CATCH YOU! SLIDE DOWN!" Her voice echoed through the tunnel.

Scott looked at Tony and smiled. "Your daddy's down there," he said. "He gonna catch you!"

Tony nodded. He started scooting slowly through the tunnel. His knee was hurting where Scott fell on it, but he didn't want to complain. He knew Scott didn't hurt him on purpose, and he knew Natalie didn't mean for Scott to fall on him. He didn't want to get anyone into trouble. And they hadn't had cake yet, so Tony didn't want them to stop his birthday party either.

It was a long and painstaking six and a half feet that Tony had to go to get to the top of the slide. Finally he sat at the lip of it, scared to go down, but knowing it was the only way out. "J-Jethro?" his voice was soft, defeated sounding. He didn't expect Jethro to really be there, even though Natalie had told him he was.

"I'm right down here at the bottom, Buddy," Jethro's voice echoed up the tunnel. "I'm going to catch you ok? Slide down whenever you're ready. I've got you!"

xxx

Across the room, the parents were watching as Jethro waited at the bottom of the slide. "I bet Tony got scared," Shannon murmured to Jewel, Scott's mother. She'd sought the boy's mom out once she realized Scott and Tony were good friends.

Jewel looked at Shannon. "Is he…ok?"

Shannon cut her eyes at her new friend. Her expression softened when she saw no judgment or malice there, only curiosity. "He's fine. Just had a hard life."

"Did you adopt him?"

"We're working on finalizing it. Should be completed in May we hope. Poor thing he deserves a good life…his surely didn't start off that way."

Scott's mother shook her head sadly. "Don't know why people are mean to their kids. Tony seems like a sweet boy."

"He is," Shannon said softly. "He's the sweetest little guy I've ever met. All he wants is to be loved."

"Sounds like he found the right household then," Jewel said with a smile. She nudged Shannon's shoulder with her own. Shannon returned the smile and she and Jewel both clapped when Tony appeared at the bottom of the slide.

xxx

"It's ok to be scared Tony," Scott whispered in his ear. "But your daddy will catch you. He's a marine—he's a pposed a rescue people!"

Tony looked at his friend. "We go to the ball pit after this?"

Scott nodded. "I'll slide behind you and we'll go to the ball pit. Promise," he said with a smile.

"Ok. Jethro?"

"Here Tony," Jethro called.

"Here I comes!"

The slide was horrible. It was long and dark and purple and twisting and never ending. Finally it got brighter and just before he reached the opening of the slide two strong hands reached out and caught him, stopping his descent. Jethro lifted him up and hugged him. He clung on for a moment, still breathing hard, still slightly fearful.

"You're ok," Jethro soothed. "You were so brave! You did that all by yourself!"

"I sorry I got scared-ded," Tony whispered into Jethro's neck.

"Shhhh it's ok. No apologies for that. It's ok to get scared. What happened up there?"

"I got too high up," Tony said. "I do not like being high up."

"Ah," Gibbs said, rubbing his back soothingly. "You were just crawling along and didn't realize you were getting so high?"

Tony nodded.

"What happened to your leg? Your friend said something about your leg. Is it ok?" Gibbs ran his hand down Tony's bad leg gently, feeling for bumps and scrapes.

"It ok," Tony said softly. "We gots all twisted up and Scott falled on me onna accident," Tony said.

"But you're ok? It's not hurting?"

In truth, it hurt a little bit, but it wasn't anything Tony couldn't handle. "I ok," he said softly. "I glad you catched me!" He shivered in residual fear at the idea of not being caught.

"I'll always catch you if I can," Jethro whispered in his ear. "You wanna play some more?"

At that moment Scott appeared at the bottom of the slide looking decidedly pale and slightly green. "I don't like a slide either," he groaned, falling dramatically on the mat, causing Tony to giggle wildly and Jethro to chuckle.

"We gonna play inna ball pit now Jethro," Tony said. "It not high up."

"Good idea," Jethro said, setting Tony down and helping him get his balance. "I'm watching you guys. Enjoy!"

TBC…


	13. Birthday3

**Author's Note:** Thanks to Alex_DN and Gotgoats for your help with this chapter! You guys rock!

**Daddy's Boy  
><strong>**Chapter 13: Birthday 3**

The adults let the children play and run around for about an hour and a half before they all pretty much decided that it was time for cake and presents. Jethro stood up and let out a shrill whistle that stopped all of the children in the play area and let them know he wanted their attention.

From somewhere in the ball pit, Jethro heard Tony's voice. "That my Jethro. C'mon Scott. We got to get out now."

A moment later, Scott's little head popped up at the entrance tunnel into the ball pit. He crawled up so his body was inside the tunnel and then turned and reached back down. A moment later, Tony appeared as well and with Scott's help the little boy was able to crawl up into the tunnel. He laid on his belly for a moment, breathing hard from the effort of climbing with his bad leg. Beside him Scott lay on his back, in much of the same condition.

"Who wants cake?" Shannon's voice echoed through the party area and a moment after that twelve children came running, with two coming much slower behind them.

Jethro smiled when he saw Scott helping Tony walk. Tony looked happy but exhausted, and Jethro feared there would be horrible leg cramps for Tony tonight. He made a mental note to make sure Tony took both his muscle relaxer and painkiller tonight at bedtime—if not before.

"Hey buddy!" Jethro said as Tony finally reached him. Tony was panting with exertion, exhausted, but his hair was sweaty, his cheeks were pink, and his eyes were bright. He looked like he'd been having a wonderful time in the ball pit.

"Hey Jethro," Tony said.

Jethro picked him up and set him in his lap. "You ready for some cake, Big Guy?"

Tony giggled. "Silly Jethro I little!"

"Not so little now! You're growing like a little weed," Jethro said, tickling his boy.

Tony laughed harder. "I not a weed!"

Jethro feigned shock. "You aren't? What are you then?"

Tony tapped his chin as he thought about it. "I a tree!" he burst into laughter again. Jethro laughed with him and hugged him.

"Tony? You want to come sit down here? Got you a special spot," Shannon called for him, holding out her hand.

Tony looked momentarily uneasy but Jethro smiled at him, so Tony figured it'd be alright. He scooted down off Jethro's lap and made his way to the head of the party table. He crawled up in his chair, was careful to sit on his bottom as he'd been taught both at home and at school, and folded his hands patiently in his lap.

Shannon carefully opened the box that Jethro had been cooing over earlier and she lifted out the most magical thing Tony had ever seen.

The cake was a large rectangle, and it had dump trucks on it—the kind you could drive around after they'd been washed—and a picture painted on it that made it look like a construction zone. That was when Tony noticed that the plates had dump trucks on it, the napkins had bulldozers on it, and the cups had cranes on them. There were three carefully placed tablecloths—one red, one yellow, and one black. Tony blinked—his entire party looked like a work zone! That was Tony's favorite game! And suddenly the yellow hats all made sense—they were all construction helmets like builders wore!

Tony smiled up at Shannon and looked across to the other table where he smiled at Jethro. He liked birthdays!

"Ok!" Jewel piped up. "We have to sing Happy Birthday to Tony!" The kids all giggled and Tony stared at them in shock. He'd learned the words to the Happy Birthday song while he was at school because sometimes the kids had birthdays there. Tony thought that this place was better for having birthdays at though.

"Happy birthday to youuuuuuu! Happy birthday to youuuuuuuuu! Happy birrrrthdaaaaay deeeeeeear Tooooonyyy! Happyyyyyyy birtttthhhhdaaaay toooooooo youuuuuuuuuuu!"

The kids all started cheering and clapping and Jethro glanced at them, smiling, enjoying the party himself. His gut clenched though, when he glanced back at Tony's spot to find it empty. Gibbs blinked. Where the hell did Tony go? He looked around, but didn't see him.

"Shannon! Where's Tony?"

The grownups began to immediately mill around, looking all around themselves for the small boy who'd been there only a moment before. "I can't find him Jethro!" Shannon called, fear in her voice.

Finally Jethro got down on his hands and knees and looked under the table. "Got him!" He crawled up under the end of the table where Tony had been sitting. Tony was curled into a tiny little ball, back facing the table legs, head tucked down into his knees.

"Tony? Buddy? What ya doing under the table?"

Tony shuddered and didn't respond. Several of the children were looking under the table and beginning to giggle. Jethro shot them a look and they quickly all raised back up and quit laughing. Jethro held out his hands. "C'mon Bud. It's time for cake. You've been waiting for cake!"

"I don't wanna," Tony whispered.

"You don't want what?" Jethro asked quietly.

"I don't like all the kids looking at me," Tony said softly.

"Well…how bout you come sit with me in my lap and we'll have cake? And if you don't want anyone to look at you then they won't."

"I sorry," Tony whispered. "I being a bother again."

"Oh no Buddy," Jethro whispered. "Not at all. C'mon sweet boy, let's go try this cake. Think you'll like it."

Tony scooted a bit and then hissed when he shifted his leg.

"That leg hurting?"

Tony looked down for a long moment then nodded sadly.

"Well we'll take care of that too ok?"

"I don't want med'cine," Tony said. "It make me sleep."

"Well let's ask Mommy what she thinks ok?"

Tony nodded and scooted closer to Jethro. Jethro pulled him out and stood up. Everyone started to clap and Tony buried his face in the side of Jethro's neck. Jethro shook his head and everyone stopped. Scott walked up to Jethro and tugged on his pocket. "Mr. Gibbs?"

"Yeah?"

"Is Tony sad?"

Gibbs smiled at Tony's friend. "He's ok Scott," he said softly.

Scott grabbed Tony's ankle on his good leg and shook his foot. "You ok Tony?"

Tony nodded but didn't lift his face. Scott nodded, satisfied, and went to sit back down.

Shannon brought two slices of cake over for Tony and Jethro. The cake was a bright pink color and Tony raised an eyebrow at it. "Pink cake?" He wondered if this was a joke. The other birthday cakes he'd seen had all been either dark brown or light yellow. Why was his pink? He looked at Jethro but Jethro just smiled.

"Try it Tony," he said softly. "Get some of the cake with some of the frosting." Jethro scooped up his own bite. "Like this."

Tony scooped up a smaller bite than Jethro's and looked at him skeptically. Together they each stuck their bites in their mouths. A moment later Tony's eyes lit up. Strawberry!

Jethro smiled. "Like that?"

Tony nodded eagerly and took another bite. It didn't take him long before he had finished his entire slice of cake. Jethro ate his slower, but enjoyed it just as much as Tony did.

"Jethro?"

"Yeah Tony?"

"Is strawberry cake your favorite?"

Jethro thought about it for a long moment. "No…no I think my favorite cake is lemon."

"Like lemonade?" Tony loved lemonade.

Jethro smiled. "Yeah bud. Like lemonade."

Shannon came over and ruffled Tony's hair. "Want to open presents? Looks like you got a bunch!"

Tony looked at the pile and nodded. "I no want everyone to watch," he said softly. "I do not like that."

Jethro looked at Shannon for a moment, concerned about their super shy little boy. "What if we let the others go play for a few minutes and you sit here with us grownups and rest your leg and open your gifts?"

Tony nodded. "Okay," he said softly.

Shannon explained to the others that once they were finished with their cake they could go play more after they threw away their plates. It wasn't long before the children were off and running, leaving Tony alone with the adults to stare at the huge pile of presents on the table.

As he sat there, trying to decide where to begin, he suddenly yawned. Jethro smiled sadly. His boy hadn't been sleeping well. Between leg cramps and nightmares that the child refused to speak of, Tony was exhausted. Tony began opening presents slowly. He was delighted to see books, legos, puzzles, and new toy cars to add to his growing collection. Jethro carefully put the new toys into a couple of large gift bags that they'd brought along.

"Ok Tony?"

Tony yawned again. "I sleepy Jethro."

Jethro smiled. "I see that. You wanna rest some when we get home?"

Tony nodded.

Jethro watched as his boy put his head on his arms on the table. Tony didn't know about the one remaining gift that he had not yet seen. Jethro knew that Shannon would be stopping with Kelly to pick it up as soon as the party was over. He kept an eye on Tony as he packed up the toys, and noticed that it didn't take Tony long to fall asleep sitting at the table.

Shannon put her hands on Jethro's shoulders and kissed his shoulder blade. "He's such a good boy," she whispered. "I think we wore him out."

Jethro nodded. "I think we did. But I think we reached our goal too."

"Did he end up liking his birthday cake?"

Jethro chuckled. "Oh man I thought he was going to eat the plate! He loved it." He wrapped an arm around his wife. "How do we wanna break this down?"

"Same way we sat it up? I'll keep Kelly with me, and you can go ahead and take Tony home whenever you're ready. Poor thing's exhausted."

"Yeah he is," Jethro said softly. "I'm worried about him Shan," he murmured. "He's been remembering stuff…and it seems like it's all big stuff. He might need to talk to someone."

"We'll ask Dr. Walters about it," Shannon said. "Maybe he knows someone."

xxx

Jethro carefully carried Little Tony into the house and up the stairs. He figured Tony had really worn himself out at the party for him to have slept all the way home after falling asleep at the table. He and Shannon agreed before he left that Shannon would stop and pick up the present on the way home and they would give it to Tony after his nap.

He gently laid Tony on the bed and pulled a soft quilt up over his little shoulder. Tony blinked once, smiled lazily at Jethro and then fell asleep again. Jethro lightly petted his child's hair and sat in the old rocker nearby, close in case Tony needed anything or woke up scared. A half hour or so later, Jethro heard the front door slam and winced. He glanced at Tony who didn't move and let out a silent sigh of relief.

Kelly bounded up the stairs and Jethro put a finger to his lips when she opened the door. Seeing that her brother was sound asleep, Kelly tiptoed dramatically over to Jethro. "How long is he gonna sleep?" She asked in a loud stage whisper.

"Dunno Kells," Jethro said, pulling her up into his lap. "He's tired."

"But I wanna give him his present! He's going to be so excited!"

"Well we're going to have to be quiet even though we're excited. Tony needs to rest some," Jethro said, his voice just barely audible. He hugged his squirmy baby girl.

"What if I go get his present and bring it in here so he sees it first thing when he wakes up?"

Jethro smiled and shook his head. "Tony will see his present when it is time and not a moment before," he told her firmly. "Go find Archie and play with him Kelly."

Archie was Kelly's cat. He was a bit reclusive, but Jethro thought that could be because the poor cat feared bodily harm from the very loud precocious seven year old who liked to play with him. Kelly was never mean or rough with Archie; in fact she cared for him quite meticulously. The cat was just skittish. He'd been a rescue cat from an abusive home, and he followed Tony around religiously.

Gibbs tried not to think of the irony of that.

xxx

In the end, it was the ringing phone that finally woke Tony up. Jethro heard it ring in their bedroom and watched as Tony's eyes blinked open. Shannon answered the phone and poked her head in the room to see Tony slowly sitting up.

"Hang on just a second," she said softly. "I think he's just waking up from his nap."

Tony was scrubbing an eye with his hand and yawning. Shannon joined him on the bed.

"Grandpa's on the phone. He wants to talk to you Tony."

Tony yawned again but his eyes widened and he smiled. Tony loved talking to Grandpa on the phone! He took the phone from Shannon who smiled and winked at Jethro.

"Hello?"

"_Hey there Birthday Boy! How's my big kid doing?"_

"I ok," Tony said. "How you Grandpa?"

"_Ah I can't complain any," Grandpa said. "I hear you had a birthday party! Did you have fun?"_

Tony nodded, and then remembered that you have to talk when you're on the phone. "I had a good time," he said. "I had a cake!"

"_You did! What kind of cake did you have?"_

"Straaaaawberry! It was sooooooo yummy," Tony gushed into the phone. "I wish you could came and eat some with us," he said in a quieter, almost sad voice.

"_Well I will be coming for a visit this summer, not to worry! Maybe we can get us a strawberry cake then!"_

"I thought cake was only for birthdays?"

"_Oh no Tony, you can have cake anytime you want. They're just extra special on birthdays."_

"Ohhhhhh," Tony said.

"_Did you get your present that I sent you?"_

"Yeah! I like it lots," Tony said, his eyes drifting over to the box of wooden dinosaur bones was sitting on his shelf. The pieces were like a puzzle and in the end you created a 3D dinosaur skeleton. "It's fun to build dinosaurs," Tony told his grandpa.

"_Good, I'm glad you like it. Well let me talk to your Daddy for a minute alright? Love you kiddo—glad you had a good birthday! I'll come visit soon alright?"_

Tony nodded again, forgetting to speak. "Oh," he said, remembering, "Uh ok Grandpa. Bye." He passed the phone to Jethro and walked over where the bags of gifts had been placed when they came home. He pulled out one of his new books and started looking at it while Jethro chatted on the phone with Grandpa.

A few minutes later, Jethro hung up, but before he could put the phone down it rang again in his hand. Looking at it curiously, Jethro answered it. "Hello?"

"_Hello Jethro it's JoAnne calling."_

"Hi JoAnne. What's up?"

"_I was wondering if I could speak with Little Tony," she said. "I wanted to tell him happy birthday."_

Jethro smiled. He was glad that his mother-in-law had straightened out and accepted Tony. "Sure, hang on a second he's right here."

Jethro held out the phone. "Tony? Phone bud."

Tony looked confused. "Again? But nobody calls me. Not ever. Why today?"

Jethro shrugged. "Why don't you answer and see who it is?"

Tony cautiously reached out and took the phone. "Hello?"

"_Tony Darling! Happy birthday my sweet boy!"_

"Thank you," Tony said politely. "Um. Who's this?"

"_Oh silly me, it's Grandma my dear. I called to tell you happy birthday!"_

Tony grinned. "Hi Grand-a-ma."

"_Hello Sweetheart. Did you have a party?"_

Tony nodded, and then remembered. He'd figure this phone out one day. "Yeah! I had a builder birthday!"

"Tell me all about it!"

Jethro listened as Tony recounted his birthday party to Shannon's mom. "…we gotta play in the tunnels and climb and I got really high up and was scared but my friend helped me slide down and then I hadda cake and it was yummy—Grand-a-ma I never had a cake before! It was strawberry! And it had dump trucks on it!"

"_It sounds like you had a lovely day. Did you get the gift I sent you?"_

Tony looked around his room before his eyes settled on the magnet cars. You could build and change the appearance of the cars and the pieces were held together with magnets. "Yeah! I like it!"

"_That's good darling."_

Tony and his grandma chatted for a couple more minutes before Tony handed the phone off to Shannon, who talked for a few minutes before passing it off to Kelly. Once everyone was off the phone Jethro winked at Shannon. Tony saw it and wondered what that meant.

"Tony…we've got something to tell ya Buddy," Jethro said softly.

Tony felt fear rise in his stomach. He didn't want to know, but he bit his lip and decided to be brave. Jethro reached out and gently released Tony's lip from his teeth.

"We haven't given you all of your presents yet," Jethro told him. "You've still got one more present."

Tony was confused. He'd been sure they were going to tell him something bad. "More presents?" He looked around at the two huge bags full of new books and toys he'd already gotten. "I already got lots. I don't need more?"

Jethro smiled and pulled Tony into a hug. He was such a sweet and humble child. "This last present is very special, and you have to take very good care of it."

Tony nodded. He was always very careful with his toys and books—everything always went right back into its container, very carefully, everything was always in order and Tony's room was never messy. "Ok," he said. "I take a good care of it. What is it?"

"Why don't we go downstairs and I'll get it for you?"

Tony and Jethro walked slowly down the stairs, with Jethro helping Tony walk carefully so he didn't fall. Once they got to the living room Kelly bounded into the room. "Is it time yet? Can I go get it for him? Pleeeeeease Daddy?"

Jethro smiled and sat on the couch with Tony. "Yeah Kelly, why don't you and Mommy work together to bring it in here for Tony to see."

Tony blinked and stared up at Jethro. What present could be so big that it would take Shannon and Kelly both to bring it in? A moment later he heard the back door slam. "What's that?"

"That's Mommy and Kelly getting your present Tony. They went out the back door."

"Why they went outside?"

"They're getting your present Tony. Are you ready to see what it is?"

Tony nodded, his eyes round. Jethro stood up and walked to the kitchen. A moment later he came back and a moment after that Tony heard the back door slam again. Then Tony heard a strange sound that he couldn't understand, but it scared him a little. It sounded like a scratchy sound, but there was also a squeaky sound…what could it be?

"Happy birthday Tony," Kelly exclaimed as she ran in the room. Bounding right along beside her was…Tony's eyes widened.

"A…A doggy?"

Shannon smiled. "Well we thought you might like one. He's all yours Tony."

Tony's jaw dropped slightly and he shook his head slowly. "B-but…but I-I's d-dunno how's a take c-care of-of a-a d-doggy," he stammered. "I's promised I w-would, b-but I's d-dunnos how?"

Seeing that his boy was beginning to panic Jethro knelt in front of him. "Oh sweetheart I didn't mean you'd have to do it all on your own," Jethro said gently. "We'll help you take care of him and we'll show you how to take care of him. Don't be upset Buddy. It's alright. Gonna all be ok."

Tony's breathing evened out and he stared at Jethro through tear-filled eyes. "Y-You's a help me?"

"Calm down Tony," Shannon said sitting down beside him on the couch. "Think about your words and take your time saying them," she coached gently. She patted her lap and the dog ran over to her.

The dog was beautiful—gleaming white, fluffy with big feet. Tony giggled when the dog put its front paws up on Shannon's lap and licked her right in the face. Tony reached out a slow hand and touched her head. He'd never had a dog before! And he'd really not been around too many dogs before either…the neighbors down the road had one they'd let him touch sometimes, but this…this was _his dog._

"What her name?" Tony spoke softly, touching the dog's ear and drawing back, startled, when the dog quickly licked his hand.

Jethro and Shannon had chosen a Great Pyrenees for Tony. They're a stubborn breed but were known for being protective and for being good with children. Plus the dog would be a good playmate for Tony, and because she would require daily walks, would be a good source of exercise for Tony with his leg also.

"You get to pick her name," Jethro told him softly.

"It's a girl dog?"

Jethro nodded. "Yep. Got you a girl dog. She's about three years old, so she's already as big as she's going to get, and she's already been taught that she goes potty outside." _Thank God,_ Jethro thought to himself. "So what do you think her name should be?"

Tony looked at the dog and carefully cupped the furry white face in his little hands. The dog was excited, and kept trying to lick Tony. Finally the dog rested her front paws on Tony's lap and looked up at him. Tony was struck by the way the dog looked at him—already it seemed the dog had chosen him to be her best friend.

"I think Sasha. My doggy's name is Sasha," Tony said.

Sasha yipped once and wagged her tail before licking Tony's face.

"I think she likes her name Tony," Jethro said with a chuckle at the expression on the child's face.

Tony blinked. "I think so too," he giggled. Then he sobered and looked up at Jethro and Shannon. "Thank you for my first birthday," he said softly. "This was the bestest birthday ever!"

Jethro, Shannon, and Kelly all leaned over to hug Tony. "We love you Tony," Kelly said. "That makes your birthday super special to us. I'm so glad we found you."

Tony hugged them back. "I's glad too," he whispered.

TBC…


	14. May 1

**Special Thanks: **To **Gotgoats**, my wonderful beta, and also to **Psyche53** for all of her wonderful insight into this chapter. Your help is greatly appreciated, my friends!  
><strong>Warning<strong>: Flashback: Language, abuse, violence, all sorts of badness.

**Daddy's Boy  
><strong>**Chapter 14: May 1**

"Look! There goes speh-shul Little Toooonyyyy," Eight year old Griffin St. James sneered the instant Tony walked onto the field a month after Tony's birthday. He was walking with Scott and they had Sasha with them. Jethro and Shannon allowed him to walk Sasha to the field by himself since it wasn't far away. Kelly was at dance practice.

The kids in the field were on their bicycles, riding around, trying to do wheelies and jumps, most of them landing on the ground instead. Griffin rode his bike over to where Sasha was sniffing the ground and Tony was standing with her. Scott had a baseball in a glove and was tossing it up and catching it. Griffin began to circle the boys and the dog on his bike. Sasha barked and jumped, trying to play with Griffin, but Griffin stopped and kicked dirt at Sasha.

"Do not kick dirt on Sasha," Tony said loudly. "Sasha have not hurted you!"

"Sasha have not hurted you," Griffin sneered back. "Go home. Baby." Griffin bumped Tony's shoulder hard and he almost fell down.

"Leave him alone," Scott said, dropping his ball glove and steadying his friend.

"Whatever. You're a bunch of losers," Griffin said. "Stupid speh-shul Tooooonyyy," he sing-songed as he rode away down the street.

Tony and Scott played for a while with Sasha until Tony started to feel tired. His leg had been giving him lots of trouble lately—it always hurt! But Tony didn't like to take the medicine because then he got so sleepy! So most of the time he just didn't tell Jethro or Shannon how bad his leg hurt. The boys and the dog started heading back down the street when they heard a strange noise.

It sounded like someone crying.

Tony and Sasha stopped and listened. Scott kept walking for several steps until he realized Tony had stopped then he stopped too. "What?"

"I hear a noise," Tony said. "Someone sounds sad."

They walked around the curve and Tony's eyes widened when he saw a bicycle laying on the ground. Griffin was lying under the bicycle, pinned down it seemed, and crying softly.

"Help me," Tony said, rushing to Griffin. "Griffin? You ok?"

"Go away," Griffin whimpered.

"Are you hurted?"

Griffin cried quietly for a moment then nodded. Tony turned to Scott. "Hold Sasha please," he said. "Don't let her go no matter what!" He handed his friend Sasha's leash and then heaved and struggled but managed to lift the bike off of the bully on the ground. "Where you hurted?"

Griffin blinked and looked up at him. "My arm," Griffin said softly. "It really hurts." He held it up and Tony's eyes widened. The arm was broken. Tony's leg had looked like that before. He remembered seeing the bone at an odd angle and shuddered.

"C'mon," he told Griffin, bravely hooking his hands under Griffin's arms. "I gonna help you."

Griffin blinked and Scott froze.

"Tony why ya gonna help him?" Scott's eyes were wide. He was convinced his friend had lost his mind.

Tony stopped and looked at his friend. Confusion was written all over his face. "He's hurted. He needs help. I gonna help him."

"But he's always so mean to you! He hates you Tony! He's gonna pound you to a pulp just for touching him!"

Tony heaved and pulled and slowly got Griffin on his feet. The boy was still whimpering and crying, cradling his arm carefully. "C'mon," he said. "I gonna walk you to your mommy."

Griffin nodded and together he and Tony started down the street. Tony glanced back. "Will you take Sasha back to my house? And tell Jethro where I going please?"

Scott nodded and watched as his friend helped the boy, who was almost twice as big as he was, walk home.

xxx

By the time they reached Griffin's house, Tony's leg was burning and aching worse than he could remember it doing in a long time. Because it was a warm day, Griffin's mom had several windows in the house opened and she heard her son's quiet sobs as they walked up the driveway. She rushed to the door and stopped in surprise by the sight that greeted her.

Tony was limping badly, the strain on his face was evident, as was his pain, and he was supporting Griffin…Griffin's face was streaked with dirt and tears and he was cradling his arm against his stomach.

"Griffin Mama we sorry we late, but Griffin hurted his arm. I thinked he broked it," Tony said politely. Griffin's father rushed out the door and scooped up Griffin and hauled him inside. He thanked Tony over his shoulder as he rushed his boy into the house.

"I gonna go now," Tony said softly. "I hope Griffin is ok."

"Thank you Tony," Pam St. James said. "Do you want me to take you home?"

Tony didn't feel comfortable with grownups he didn't know well. He shook his head. "No thanks you," he said politely. "I just gonna walk."

"Ok then. Be careful Sweetie!"

"Bye," Tony said as he limped away.

By the end of the block, Tony's leg was hurting even worse and Tony decided it would be ok for him to sit down for a minute and take a rest. He hadn't rested the whole way back to Griffin's house since Griffin was hurt so bad. He sat down hard on his bottom and grunted when his leg twitched. Oh man it hurt!

Little did Tony know, as soon as he'd taken off walking down the street, Pam St. James pulled out the neighborhood directory and she called Shannon Gibbs.

xxx

Shannon was making chicken salad for lunch and was busy cutting up the cooked chicken when there was a knock on the door. "Honey can you get the door," she called to Jethro. "I'm covered in chicken!"

Jethro smirked and chuckled as he moved to the door. His eyes widened when he opened the door and saw Tony's dog with Tony's friend, but no Tony. His gut clenched when he saw the child's eyes were wide with fear.

"Where's Tony?" he asked the little boy—what the heck was his name?—urgently.

Shannon came into the living room wiping her hands on a towel. She saw the dog and the startled looking little boy and her brows furrowed as her own gut clenched.

"He's with—with Griffin!" Scott panted. He was so scared for Tony—there was no telling what that crazy big stupid bully would do to Tony! He'd probably been faking being hurt just so he could hurt Tony!

"Are they at the field? Where are they?" Gibbs really didn't mean to be so scary but to a small five year old boy, the big gruff Gunny was about more than he could handle.

"They's walking to Griffin's house," Scott whispered. "Tony told me to bring you Sasha and tell you where he is so's you don't worry!"

"You did good Sweetie," Shannon said gently. "Come on inside I'll get you some lemonade. Does your mother know you are playing outside?"

Scott nodded. "I'd like some lemonade," the child said softly.

"I'll go find Tony," Jethro said. "What time are we supposed to get Kelly?"

"In about fifteen minutes. That'll give Scott time to drink his lemonade before I have to go get her," Shannon said, winking at Scott.

"Back soon," Gibbs called. "Hopefully," he muttered to himself. He didn't know what he would find as he ran down the street. He hoped that this Griffin kid was really hurt…if he'd hurt his Tony…well he didn't know what he'd do.

xxx

A few minutes after Jethro left to go find Tony, the phone rang in Tony's house. Shannon glanced at Scott who was drinking his second glass of lemonade and calming down. She picked up the phone.

"Hello?"

"Shannon this is Pam St. James. Griffin's mother."

"Hello. Have you seen Tony?"

"Yes! We think Griffin may have a broken arm. He fell riding his bicycle and Tony walked him home. I offered to drive him home and Tony insisted that he wanted to walk. I just wanted to give you a heads up. He was limping badly."

Shannon closed her eyes wondering what damage Tony may have done to his leg. "Thank you for calling me. Another little boy brought Tony's dog home and told us he was walking Griffin home. I appreciate you letting me know what happened though."

"You're welcome! Well, we are taking Griffin to the Emergency Room to get his arm looked at, but do thank Tony for us ok?"

"I will," Shannon said. "Thank you. I hope Griffin's arm will be ok."

She hung up the phone and Scott stared at her. "Did Griffin kill him?"

Shannon chuckled and wrapped the boy in a gentle hug. "No Sweetheart," she said softly. "Griffin didn't kill Tony."

xxx

Gibbs was running down the street towards the St. James' house when he saw a little bundle lying on the ground. He doubled his speed, and hit his knees on the grass as soon as he reached Tony. "Tony? Baby you ok? Tony? Look up here Sweetie c'mon son look up here."

Tony was sprawled on his side on the grass with his eyes closed. He didn't realize he'd fallen asleep until he was pounced by Jethro. He slowly blinked his eyes open and stared up at him. "Jethro?"

"Are you ok? Sit up Tony—are you hurt—do you need a doctor?" Gibbs was talking too fast; Tony could barely understand what he was saying. He blinked his eyes and stared slightly fearfully up at Jethro.

"I thinked I just walked too much," Tony said softly. "My leg hurting."

Gibbs pulled his boy close and hugged him tightly. "God you scared me so bad! I saw you laying here and I just knew you were hurt! Oh Tony I'm sorry I scared you. Scott brought Sasha home and was worried about you and I guess I got scared."

"I glad Scott bringed Sasha home," Tony said. He shifted slightly and groaned when his leg ached. He didn't think he'd be able to make it home.

"Your leg's hurting pretty bad, huh," Jethro said softly. Tony nodded sadly.

Jethro stood up and for one brief instant Tony's eyes filled with fear—was Jethro going to leave him there? Jethro bent down and hooked his hands under Tony's arms and gently lifted him, careful not to bump his leg. Tony let out a silent sigh of relief and he relaxed.

"C'mon big guy," Jethro said, wrapping his arms around his boy. "Got you now. Let's go home."

Before Jethro had even walked five steps, Tony was sound asleep in his arms.

xxx

Jethro walked in the door with Tony just as Shannon was ushering Scott out the door so she could go get Kelly.

"Oh good you found him! Griffin's mother called to tell us what happened and that Tony insisted on walking home. Is he alright?" Shannon paused when she saw the way her husband was carrying their son.

"He's just exhausted I think," Jethro said. "And his leg's hurting."

"His meds are in the cabinet over the stove," Shannon said. "C'mon Scott I'll drop you off at home on the way to get Kelly. Tony's ok. He's just taking a nap."

Scott nodded and walked out of the house behind Shannon. He glanced back every step or two to make sure that Tony was really alright. Shannon smiled sadly and shut the door behind them.

Jethro walked into the kitchen and sat Tony up on the counter, propped against his chest, head on Jethro's shoulder. Then he looked up in the top cabinet above the stove and pulled down Tony's medicines. The doctor had added a muscle relaxer in addition to the painkiller when he'd seen them last. The combination of medicines made Tony extremely sleepy, but in this case, Jethro thought it'd be ok. The doctor had told them it was perfectly safe to give him both medicines if he needed it.

Jethro pulled out the needleless syringe and dosed up the painkiller first. He shook Tony's shoulder gently. "Buddy? C'mon Tony. Here's your medicine. It'll help that leg feel better. Wake up."

Tony blinked and opened his eyes. He was so exhausted. He hurt so bad. He whimpered softly.

Jethro ran his hands over Tony's hair gently. "I know it hurts. I'm so sorry kiddo. Here, this'll help. We'll get your medicine in ya and then we'll go take a nice warm bath and then you can have a good nap. How does that sound?" He gently coaxed the syringe into Tony's mouth. Tony sucked down the medicine and then shook his head. Sometimes he liked the taste of it, but other times he didn't. This apparently was one of the times that he didn't. Like a little trooper though, he didn't spit it out.

"Attaboy," Jethro whispered. He quickly dosed up the second one. "Here ya go, last one," Jethro coached. Tony reluctantly put the syringe in his mouth this time and took his medicine.

Jethro tossed the syringe into the sink so that it could be rinsed out later and then put the medicines back up on the shelf where they belonged. He picked Tony up and carried him up the stairs. He walked into the bathroom and gently sat Tony down on the closed toilet lid. He turned on the water and watched as Tony began to sway sleepily where he was sitting. Jethro made quick work of stripping the boy down. He unfastened Tony's leg brace and lifted him into the tub.

Bathtime was something that Tony had been taught all about once he'd come to stay with the Gibbses. At his father's house he was lucky if he got a bath. At Stacy and Ted's house, he'd only been allowed to take a shower. Bathtime in their house had been one more step in the routine, and nothing meant to be relaxing or pleasant. But at the Gibbses house…oh here there were crayons to draw on the bathtub with, boats that floated, cups that sank, duckys that swam, and squirt bottles for added antics. Jethro and Shannon would put bubbles in the tub sometimes and then Tony could make crowns of bubbles for his head, or mountains of bubbles to splash in.

Today though, bathtime was all about getting clean before Tony fell asleep. Jethro held him up and quickly sponged him off. Tony had gotten dirty from playing with the ball and the dog, and then he'd gotten even dirtier from sleeping on the grass. Jethro didn't know how long Tony would sleep once he finally was allowed to lie down in his bed, but Jethro wanted to make sure that his muscles were good and relaxed when he laid down and that he was clean. That way if he slept the whole night, then there wouldn't be any problems the next day—Tony would be ready to go.

"Sit up for me Tony," Jethro said gently. "I gotta grab your pjs and a towel. Sit up for me ok? Don't lay down in the water." Jethro stayed put until he saw Tony's hand slowly come up to grip the side of the tub. "Good Tony. I'll hurry. Sit tight." Jethro raced to the bedroom where he grabbed Tony's favorite pajamas—the ones with the red dinosaurs on them—and he hurried to the closet where he grabbed a towel. He kicked himself for forgetting to get them before he put Tony in the tub, but there was no way to go back and change that now. He breathed a silent sigh of relief when he raced back into the bathroom and found Tony still clinging to the side of the tub, shivering slightly, water dripping off of him.

"Good boy," Jethro praised, pulling the plug on the drain. Tony shivered more as the water began to recede and Jethro quickly bundled him into a towel and began drying him off. He quickly dressed him in the pjs and then picked him up. Tony let out a soft sigh and Jethro was fairly certain that he'd fallen asleep again.

Sasha met them at the bathroom door as Jethro headed to Tony's room. She followed her Tony and his Jethro through the house and into Tony's bedroom. Jethro quickly pulled back the covers on the bed. Sasha sat politely next to the bed until Jethro had Tony tucked in, and the covers pulled up. Then she lightly hopped up on the bed and curled up at Tony's feet. Tony was down for the count though. Between the long walk, the heavy lifting, and the medicines, Tony was sound asleep, little mouth drooped open slightly and completely boneless against the mattress.

"Good girl Sasha," Jethro whispered, giving the dog a gentle pat on the head. "Stay with Tony. Come get me if he needs me." Jethro crept out of the room, leaving the door opened enough that the dog could leave and he could hear Tony, and he walked back down the stairs to rinse out Tony's syringe and calm himself down. He'd been sure something awful had happened to Tony today. In fact, his gut was still churning. But he told himself that nothing else was wrong.

He should have known better.

xxx

Tony had been soundly asleep for about two hours. Jethro had poked his head into Tony's room multiple times to make sure he was alright, but the only movement he ever saw from the bed was the light thumping of Sasha's tail. They'd decided to grill out for dinner—Tony loved it when they made cheeseburgers on the grill and it would allow Kelly to be loud outside where she couldn't wake Tony up. The big sister had been very concerned about her younger brother when she found out what happened. She, like Scott, didn't understand why Tony would have been so willing to help someone who was so mean to him.

"It really isn't for any of us to understand," Shannon told her gently. "That's just the way Little Tony's brain works. If he sees something that needs help, then he helps it."

Sasha had stayed on Tony's bed with him all afternoon. She was dozing lightly in the late afternoon sun when suddenly her ears perked up. She raised her head and looked around the room before standing up and stretching. Sasha walked up to her sleeping Tony and sniffed him carefully, making sure not to wake him.

Tony groaned.

Sasha cocked her head to one side and pawed at his shoulder lightly. Tony didn't wake up; he rolled his head on the pillow and groaned again. His face scrunched up and he whimpered. Then he shook his head no. Sasha nudged his face with her cold nose but he didn't move. She yipped once, but instead of waking up Tony only seemed to grow more restless. A shudder ripped through the boy's frame that nearly sent Sasha to the floor. She licked his face and when that didn't wake her Tony up she hopped down off the bed and thundered down the stairs, running as fast as she could. Her boy needed help.

Sasha followed her nose through the house, looking for Tony's Jethro. Where was he? She followed his smell all the way to the back door. She could see him standing right out on the porch grilling hamburgers. He was close by so he could hear Tony if he yelled.

Sasha barked once.

Jethro turned and saw the dog. She put her front paws down on the ground and then popped back up. _Follow me._ _Hurry._

"Shannon watch the burgers I'm going to go check on Tony," Jethro called, running into the house. He knew something was wrong the instant he saw the dog because the dog rarely left Tony's side. Sasha took off at a dead run, stopping at every doorway to make sure that Jethro was following her. "I'm coming Sash," Jethro said as he ran behind her. "What's wrong with Tony, eh? He ok?"

Jethro froze in the doorway to Tony's bedroom. Tony was sitting up in bed, his face was in his hands and he was breathing in whimpering little gasps. Jethro blinked and then rushed to Tony's side.

"Tony? Tony can you hear me?" he shook his boy's shoulder gently, but there was no response. Jethro pulled Tony's hands away from his face and was shocked to discover that his eyes were wide open.

What the heck was going on?

_**Tony's Dream…**_

_It wasn't long after three year old Tony had been left in the hotel by his parents that he wandered into the house from the backyard and heard his parents arguing. He instantly wanted to go back outside, but knew that it was getting dark. It was time for him to be inside. He'd get into trouble if he stayed outside too long._

_His mother was yelling and as he walked up the stairs, he could make out her words…_

"—_hell was that phone call about Anthony? What, they're investigating our finances? Why? What'd you do this time?"_

_And he heard his father yelling._

"_Goddamn you woman that is none of your business. My job is to manage the finances your job is to shut the fuck up and not question me!"_

_This was a bad fight. Tony didn't want to listen anymore._

_His mother started speaking again…_

"_You need me. You need me for my money. My family's wealth. Well I'll tell you something you bastard. My father won't bail your ass out this time. He's tired of your greed. He doesn't like the way you do business."_

_Tony hated it when his parents fought like this._

_His father was suddenly much louder. _

"_That must be because of what you told him! What have you told him? What did you say?"_

_Tony flinched when he heard the sound of someone being hit and he heard his mother grunt in pain. "Anthony," she moaned. "Don't do this."_

"_Don't tell me what to do you goddamn bitch!"_

_Tony heard the sound of glass breaking and heard his mother scream. Tony didn't think, he just rushed into the room where his parents were fighting._

"_Mama?" Tony's voice was soft and it sliced right through the anger._

"_Tony you need to go to your room," his mother told him._

"_You little bastard why are you in here? WHAT DO YOU WANT!" Tony flinched at his father's angry words. He was holding a fire poker and there was some broken glass on the floor._

"_I-I's sorry," Tony whispered. "Mama was screamin', an' I's thinking she's was hurted."_

"_Oh are you her protector now? Her guardian?" his father sneered at him._

_Anthony's anger turned on his son and Sophia DiNozzo's eyes widened in panic. "No, no Anthony don't. This isn't about him. This is between you and me. GODDAMMIT TONY GO TO YOUR ROOM!" Her words were slurred slightly from the busted, swollen lip she had._

_Anthony shrugged the woman off when she grabbed his arm. "Let go of me," he growled. He advanced on Tony and Tony was frozen in fear, unable to move, not knowing what to do. His father grinned, showing all of his teeth and Tony's eyes widened when he raised the fire poker at him. _

_Just before his father swung the poker down on him, Tony closed his eyes. He didn't want to watch and he didn't want to look at his father anymore. Suddenly something crashed into him and he was sent sprawling across the floor. Tony heard the sound of the poker hitting something and opened his eyes. He looked around, curious about what had happened._

_His father's eyes were wide with horror and his hands were shaking as they held the fire poker. Tony followed his father's gaze to the floor…to his mother…her eyes were still open and she was staring at him, an accusing, malicious stare, anger marring her features._

"_Mama," Tony breathed, his voice barely audible. Her head was hurt. It was bleeding. He looked at his father who had risen to his feet. _

"_Go," his father growled. _

_Tony ran from the room. He watched from the doorway as his father picked his mother up and carried her to the bathroom. Tony heard her groan as they passed his room. From his room he could see into the bathroom as his father took his mother's head and smeared it across the edge of the tub…did he want her to look like she fell? And then he took a…a knife? No…it was a ra..rasc…razor blade and he cut his mother on her arms and she started bleeding from her arms. Tony heard his mother whimper softly when his father made the cuts. Tony covered his mouth with his hands to keep from screaming. Then his father carefully wiped the handle off and then using the towel he put the blade in his mother's hand. Tony was so confused, but he made no sound._

_A while later, Tony was still sitting in his doorway watching his mother. The puddle of blood had stopped growing. Tony was glad she wasn't bleeding anymore, that might help her feel better. His father came out of the bedroom and he was wearing new clothes. "Stupid bitch…got blood on me…had to burn my damn clothes," his father was muttering. Then he picked up a phone and dialed. "Hello? Hello I need an ambulance! It's my wife…I think she's tried to kill herself. No I don't know if she has a pulse. I've got my son here…I don't want him to get too close…don't want him to see…yes. Yes thank you." Tony's father hung up the phone and looked at his wife for a long moment. Then he turned to Tony and grabbed him by the arm and dragged him outside._

_Once they were outside where people might see, though, his father wrapped him in a loving, gentle embrace, and pressed Tony's head to his shoulder. It was nice. Tony heard lots of loud noises and saw lots of flashing lights. A while later, his father sat him down on the sidewalk in front of the house and told him to stay there. A police officer told Tony not to move. It was a crime scene. Whatever that was._

_Little Tony didn't ask any questions. Didn't say anything. He was terrified, and so confused._

_Later his father came up to Tony and Tony blinked in fear when he saw the murderous gleam in his father's eyes now directed towards him. "Look what you did you little bastard," his father hissed at him. "You did this! You! It's your fault."_

_Tony flinched at the words and his father bent down closer to him. "You can never tell anyone what happened here Tony. If they find out your mother died because of you then you will get into a lot of trouble."_

"_But…but I's didn't…you's…"_

"_You and I came home and we found your mother in the bathroom," his father growled. "Say it."_

"_W-We's a comed home's a-and we's finded M-mama inna b-bathroom," Tony whispered._

"_Say it again," Tony's father growled. Tony whispered the words again. His father's gaze lightened just slightly. "Good boy," he grumbled. "Don't ever forget it. If you ever tell anyone what really happened you will be in so. much. trouble. We clear?"_

_Tony nodded. "C-clear." He looked up at his father, his heart pounding. Anthony's face began to change…he looked like that monster that Tony saw on television by accident before Jethro changed the channel a few nights ago. Tony began to breathe fast as his father grew taller and bigger, and his eyes grew darker and meaner. His father approached Tony a little closer and when Tony saw his father's hand reaching for him, Tony began to scream…_

_**End Dream…**_

Jethro was running his hands through Tony's hair, touching his face lightly, trying to get Tony to respond. He felt his own feelings of fear and concern growing when suddenly Tony's eyes got very wide and with a look of pure terror, Jethro's baby boy let out a bloodcurdling scream…

TBC…


	15. May2

_**Thanks to my wonderful beta Gotgoats for helping unstick me in this chapter! You're wonderful pbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbt**_  
><strong>Warning:<strong> I made myself cry writing this…

**Daddy's Boy  
>Chapter 15: May 2<strong>

Shannon was on the porch, poking at the burgers. Kelly was on the sidewalk playing hopscotch. Shannon wondered what caused Jethro to suddenly go racing into the house, and she wondered if he needed help with Tony. But Shannon trusted Jethro—she knew he'd yell if he needed help. She also knew that when it came down to it, even though Tony loved Shannon, he _preferred _Jethro. It was likely that Tony would divulge more information to Jethro than he would to Shannon.

She flipped the burgers and laughed as Kelly tried to hop over the box with the rock inside of it. A sudden bloodcurdling scream came from inside the house and Shannon nearly dropped the spatula she was poking at the meat with.

"Stay here Kelly," Shannon said. "I'll be right back. Leave the grill alone." Shannon raced into the house, the back screen door slamming hard behind her. She wasn't worried about leaving Kelly playing in the back yard—the yards were all securely fenced in—no one could get to her. "Jethro? Jethro! Where are you? What's wrong? Where's Tony?" she called as she raced through the house.

Jethro met her in the hall. He was holding a hysterical-absolutely terrified-inconsolable Tony in his arms. Shannon froze. Jethro was panicked. Jethro _never _panicked. He could be in the middle of a warzone under fire from enemy hostels and not be panicking. But now, holding this frightened, screaming, crying, gasping six year old little boy in his arms, Jethro Gibbs was panicking. And his eyes were filling with desperate tears.

"He won't talk to me," Jethro's voice shook just slightly when he spoke softly. "I can't get him to snap out of it. He's just staring off and he's screaming and crying. Shannon what's wrong with him? Is he having a seizure or is he sick or…I don't know what's wrong with him," Jethro whispered sadly, desperately.

Tony's eyes were wide and his entire body was rigid with fear. He was trembling from head to foot. Shannon gently reached out and felt Little Tony's pulse. Tony flinched away in terror when he saw the hand moving towards him. But the touch was light, and didn't hurt him.

"My God," she whispered. "His heart is racing." It was obvious Tony was still breathing—he was still screaming. "Jethro let's go lay him down so I can check him."

Shannon followed as Jethro turned and headed back to Tony's bedroom. "Where's Kelly," Jethro asked as he laid Tony back down on his bed. "Is she alright?"

Shannon sat on the edge of Tony's bed. "The burgers will be ruined, but that's no matter. Kelly's playing. She's fine," she said, feeling Tony's pulse again. Jethro watched her intently. Sometimes having a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit nurse for a wife came in handy. Shannon leaned over and looked at Tony's face closely.

Tony's breathing was still shallow and his gaze was unfocused. "M-Maaaaam-m-maaa," Tony whimpered and Shannon froze, staring at her child, hope blossoming in her chest. Was Tony talking to her? Calling her Mama? Or was he talking to…her gut plummeted. Oh God, what was he remembering? A thought suddenly occurred to Shannon. Tony was having a night terror. Between the pain, and the medication, and the trauma of his past…Tony couldn't pull himself out of the dream it seemed.

"Jethro I think he's having a night terror," Shannon said in a soft voice. Her heart was breaking for her child. There was nothing they could for him right now except offer comfort. Jerking him awake could be more upsetting and confusing than the dream…

Jethro stretched out on the bed beside Tony, one hand carded lightly through the child's hair, the other hand propped up his own head. "Ok," he murmured, "it's ohhhkay now Little One, Daddy's got you shhhh…We'll get through this, just relax…"

The young father seemed to have gotten his emotions mostly under control by now; he was trying not to fall apart again. His child needed him to be strong. Jethro had almost gotten his breathing under control when Tony blinked again. Clarity returned, along with confusion and his little brow knit together solidly. Jethro's breath caught in his throat.

"Jeshroow?" Tony's voice was slurred and soft, both from the medication and the screaming. He was still groggy and not really alert yet. Shannon checked Tony's pulse again and nodded to Jethro. Tony was calming down.

"Right here, sweet boy," Jethro said softly into Tony's ear. Tony turned his head and stared at him. He yawned deeply and blinked several times. Sasha hopped up on the bed, her tail wagging slowly. She sniffed her boy and licked his hand before curling up at his feet again.

"Whaaa doin'?" Tony's eyes slid shut.

"Just making sure you're alright," Jethro whispered. "Do you remember what you were dreaming about?"

Tony blinked heavily and thought for a minute. "I dunno," he finally whispered. He could feel that there was something scary…but he couldn't put his finger on what it was… "I sorry," he whispered.

Jethro hugged him close. "No need to be sorry son," he said gently. "It's all going to be ok now. Just relax. No need to think so hard." Jethro kissed Tony on his forehead.

"I'm going to go see if we have any burgers left," Shannon said softly. "Tony if you want to eat you can but if you want to go back to sleep that's ok too, alright? If you choose to go back to sleep we'll feed you when you wake up."

"Kay," Tony whispered.

Once Shannon got up and left the room Jethro turned his full attention to Tony. "How's the leg," Jethro asked softly.

"It ok," Tony said quietly. "It hurting still. I walked too much I think."

Jethro rubbed the boy's thigh gently, feeling the knot of muscle and disfigured bone, swollen under his fingertips. "Maybe so," he agreed.

Tony yawned again and blinked his eyes. "Jethro I gonna sleep now," Tony murmured.

"Ok buddy. You want me to stay or go?"

"Stay," Tony whispered. He rolled to his side and buried his head under Jethro's chin.

Jethro smiled sadly and wrapped his arms around his child, content to sit in the semi-darkness, and offer his child all the love and support he could give.

xxx

Shannon tapped lightly on the door with one knuckle and poked her head inside the room. Tony was curled up on his side, sleeping tucked up close to Jethro who was wide awake, listening to his child breathe, listening for any clue triggering another terror like Tony had experienced earlier. The burgers were not salvageable. They'd been completely burned black by the time Shannon had gotten back outside, so she regrouped and fixed something different.

"Hey," Shannon said very quietly. "I brought you boys some dinner," she held up two plates adorned with chicken nuggets, mashed potatoes and green beans. It had been an hour and a half since Shannon had gone back downstairs and Tony hadn't moved since he'd curled up with Jethro. Sasha sat up and cocked her head curiously at the smell of the food. Sasha loved people food.

"Thanks," Jethro whispered. He hadn't moved for fear of waking Tony up. The child was so exhausted and was in so much pain, Jethro only wanted to make it better. If he could help by staying where he was and letting the child draw strength and shelter off of him, then that was fine with Jethro.

"Should we wake him up?" Shannon set the plates down and turned to the bed.

Jethro shook his head. "I don't think so," he murmured. "He was hurting pretty bad when he woke up last. I think it's wearing him out." He stared at his wife. "We have to fix his leg Shan," he said. "The brace isn't working. We have to fix it. Tony's a six year old kid—he needs to be out running around and having fun…He deserves to be out running around and having fun," he added. "He doesn't deserve this."

"I know baby," Shannon agreed. "It's Saturday night now…I'll call Dr. Trexler's emergency number tomorrow and we'll see if we can get him an appointment this week. With any luck they can maybe have him all fixed up and healing by the time he starts kindergarten in the fall."

Jethro nodded. "That'd be good," he agreed.

"He's got that appointment with the court appointed child psychologist on Monday," Shannon added. "They're going to do his deposition for the hearing. They're doing it at the psychologist's office…nice place, lots of toys. Tony will like it," she smiled.

"I'll like it too if it gets that sonofa…if it gets his father put away for good," Jethro said, correcting himself halfway through.

"Do you think he'll ever call us Daddy and Mommy," Jethro asked softly, tracing his fingers through the boy's hair.

Shannon shrugged and took a seat in the rocking chair in Tony's room. "I don't know," she said softly. "I think if he chooses not to call us that though, that it won't be because of anything we've done."

Jethro nodded. He could live with that. "He's probably got horrible associations made with the names," he said softly. "Poor thing," he stroked Tony's hair again and kissed the top of his head. "I just want to make it all better."

"Well all we can do is take it a day at a time and make each day as positive as possible," Shannon said thoughtfully.

Suddenly Jethro's eyebrows shot up. "You're a genius!" he smiled brilliantly.

Shannon was confused. "Why? What'd I do?"

"Taking it a day at a time—making each day as positive as possible," Jethro babbled. "So tomorrow we need to make it a good day—relaxing, special, something we don't do all the time, but something that won't hurt him either. He's still going to be tired."

Shannon just looked at her husband. She could tell when he was up to something—and Jethro was _definitely _up to something. "I'm listening," she said, seeing the plan already forming behind Jethro's eyes.

"What if we take them to the beach? We haven't taken Tony because it's been too cool. But tomorrow is Sunday and it's supposed to be sunny and warm. Tony would love it—he could play in the water or the sand. It'd be a great distraction from what's to come," Jethro said reasonably. "We'll pack a picnic lunch and some blankets. What do ya say?"

Shannon stood up and leaned over the bed, kissing both of her boys. "I say ham and cheese or peanut butter and jelly?"

Jethro beamed.

xxx

Tony woke up briefly about 9:30 that night, groaning and crying silently because his leg hurt so badly. Jethro rubbed the leg gently and Shannon ran him a warm bath with Epsom salts in it. Jethro sat beside the tub, stroking his fingers through the child's hair as he sat, shivering in pain, silent tears streaking down his face. Once the bath was done, Shannon offered Tony more medicine, rubbed and massaged his leg gently with the lavender bedtime lotion Tony liked so well, and Shannon and Jethro managed to get Tony to eat some of the chicken nuggets before he fell asleep again.

Around midnight, Shannon poked her head in the room to check on Tony and smiled sadly when she saw her husband sitting in the rocking chair, watching him intently, lines of worry and fear wrinkling his face. "Honey? Are you coming to bed?"

"I don't wanna leave him," Jethro whispered. "I don't want him to be alone if something like that happens again." He didn't need to define what "that" was. They both knew he was referring to Tony's night terror earlier that evening. "He was so scared. God Shan, he was so scared, and there was nothing I could do…"

"You need sleep," she said. She crossed the room and ran her fingers over the back of his neck and shoulders, frowning when she felt the tight knots there. "Especially if we're going to the beach tomorrow."

"I know," Jethro whispered, nodding his head in agreement. "I'll be in there in a few minutes."

"Why don't you sleep in here with him tonight? That way you can be close if he needs one of us and you can still sleep some."

Jethro stared up at her. "You don't mind?"

"As long as it isn't a permanent arrangement," she winked. "Tony needs you tonight. He's resting and feeling safe with you here. That helps you relax." Jethro stared at her in surprise. "Oh you don't fool me Mister Protective Papa Bear. It's no secret that you don't rest unless you know your cubs are safe."

Jethro chuckled and shook his head, amazed at how well his wife knew him, read him, and wasn't afraid to call him on it. He grabbed her hand and she hugged him from up above. "I love you Mrs. Gibbs," Jethro whispered, smiling up at his wife, saying the same thing to her that night that he'd said to her every night they'd been married.

Shannon smiled and kissed him. "I love you too Gunny. Get some sleep."

She closed the door quietly and Jethro sighed, turning back to his boy. He doubted he'd sleep. Doubted it very seriously.

xxx

Tony slept peacefully the rest of the night and the next morning Jethro was up with the sun and tiptoeing out of his child's room to go for a run. He'd managed to doze off in the early morning hours on the bed with Tony, and had slept—not very well because he kept one ear open in case Tony so much as breathed wrong—and was now ready to face his day.

When Jethro returned from his run he smiled when he smelled coffee. Shannon was awake. He stopped in the kitchen to kiss her good morning. Shannon's eyes lit up with excitement—she loved Jethro all hot and sweaty, so Jethro kissed her briefly, then ran off for the bathroom with promises to continue later. They had children—there would be no wild and crazy "grownup play" in the kitchen. At least not while the kids were at home.

Jethro was coming out of the bathroom when he heard a soft sound from Tony's room. He poked his head in the door. "Good morning," he smiled at the very sleepy, snuggly looking Tony who was sitting up in bed, blinking blearily in the morning light. "How ya doin' buddy?"

Tony yawned and stretched, and then his face twisted slightly and he grunted when he stretched his leg. "I ok," he said softly.

"You need any help getting up?" Jethro left the choice up to Tony. Tony knew when to ask for help, and he now knew (after months of convincing him) that he wouldn't get into trouble for asking for help.

Tony moved to the edge of the bed and Jethro moved in close, ready to catch his son if needed. Tony put his feet on the floor and slowly stood up but his weaker leg buckled and his eyes widened as he started to fall, but Jethro caught him almost instantly. Tony glared down at his leg and then punched it suddenly. "Stupid leg," he muttered.

"Hey," Jethro said softly. "What happened to your leg wasn't your fault, and it isn't your or your leg's fault that you are still having troubles with it," he reasoned. "Don't hit yourself son. Think of how hard you used that leg yesterday! You were brave and you helped Griffin all the way home even though your leg was hurting! And then you made it halfway back home on your own too! That's a lot of walking. I'm not surprised that it's still not working right today. Your leg had a hard day yesterday. We'll give it a break today."

Tony nodded, but didn't smile. Jethro knew he needed to get his son out of his headspace. He gently lifted Tony's leg with one hand and pointed to it dramatically with the other hand. "Now Mr. Leg! Today we will let you rest some, but _tomorrow_ Tony would like you to work and hold him up! Got it!" Tony looked at Jethro like he'd lost his mind, but Jethro could see the boy was working to not laugh. He wiggled Tony's leg so that it almost looked like the leg was nodding his agreement and Tony did laugh then.

"Jethro you make me laugh," Tony said, still smiling.

Jethro smiled and hugged his boy. "Someone needs to," he said softly. "I'm glad it's me."

xxx

Kelly burst into the kitchen while Tony was eating breakfast. He was happily munching on some Fruit Loops and there was milk dripping off his chin. Kelly ruffled Tony's hair as she walked by and he smiled at her, dripping even more milk. He was one happy kid. The medicine they were giving him was fantastic—it hadn't made him sleepy. Well not yet anyway.

"Mom can I go to Maddie's house?"

Shannon stood at the bar, sipping a cup of strong black coffee. "Not this morning Kelly," Shannon said. "Come eat breakfast."

"But I'm not hungry," Kelly said. "Mom can I _please_ go play at Maddie's house?"

"Not this morning," Shannon said again. "Please don't ask me again Sweetheart. We're going to spend the day together." She caught the look of dejection brewing on Little Tony's face. "All of us are going to spend the day together," she amended.

Jethro came in from the hallway, backpack slung over his shoulder, sandals and shorts on with a t-shirt.

"Put your bag down Daddy," Kelly grumbled. "You aren't allowed to leave either. Mom said so."

Tony nearly choked on his fruit loops and his eyes rounded at the way Kelly spoke to Jethro. Tony knew he would have been beaten senseless—or worse—for even slightly raising his voice to either of his parents! The thought of—Tony gulped—telling his parents what to do…Tony sank in his seat a bit lower and dropped his gaze. He didn't want to watch what Jethro would do to Kelly for such an offense.

To his surprise though, Jethro just chuckled. "Well ya know Kells," Jethro said. "You can leave—" Kelly's eyes lit up "—as long as you're going with Tony, Mommy, and me," he said with a wide grin.

Kelly groaned and Tony stared at her, confused. Why wouldn't Kelly want to go with them? Did she not like them? Did she not like _him_? Tony wondered if Kelly would want to go if Tony said he'd stay home.

"Kelly," Tony said softly, "you can go with Jethro and Shannon," he whispered, his eyes on his lap. "I will stay here."

Everyone froze and Kelly looked at Tony like he'd grown another head. "It's not because of you Tony!" she exclaimed. She rushed over and hugged him. "Maddie just got this new doll house the other day and we've been dying to play with it together. That's all."

Tony nodded, but he still felt unsure. He wondered where they were going today.

"You can go to Maddie's house another day," Shannon said. "I'll call Maddie's mother when we get home and set it up. OK?"

Kelly nodded. Arguing was futile, she knew. "Alright," she said. Then after a moment she perked up. "Mommy where are we going?"

Shannon smiled. "It's a surprise," she said. She had already packed the kids' swimsuits. They would help them change once they got to the beach. Shannon and Jethro were already wearing their swimsuits, but the kids hadn't noticed yet, as they were hidden under t-shirts, and Jethro's swimsuit just looked like a pair of green shorts.

A few minutes later everyone was getting loaded up in Jethro's SUV. They had an umbrella, a cooler filled with sandwiches, soda and water. A bag was filled with chips, granola bars, crackers, and cookies. Another back was carrying the blankets, towels, sunscreen, and toys. Shannon had put Tony's medicine in Jethro's backpack, along with a small travel pillow in case the little one needed a nap.

"Everyone ready to go?" Shannon put on her sunglasses. She was excited—she loved to go to the beach.

Kelly was strapped into her booster seat and Jethro was finishing buckling Tony in. "There," he said, standing up. "Now you're in." Moments later, the car was backing out of the driveway and the family began making their way across base.

"Why didn't we go that way Daddy," Kelly asked, pointing with her finger towards the highway.

"Don't need to Baby Girl," Jethro said softly as he turned right instead of left as Kelly was expecting.

"But we always go that way," Kelly said.

Tony felt a bit of anxiety when he realized they were going in an entirely new direction than Jethro had ever taken them before. Where were they going? What would they be doing? The more they rode and the longer they were in the car, the more curious and anxious he became. Scary thoughts began to tickle the back of his mind and Tony fought down the fears that tried to take over his mind.

It was a hot day, so Jethro rolled down all the windows in the car. The warm breeze flew through the car and a familiar smell caught Tony's attention. He breathed deeply and suddenly realized where they were going. He remembered the last time he'd been taken there, but he didn't think they could be going to the same place…when he'd gone there with his mother and father they had ridden on an airplane. Then he remembered what had almost happened last time they had gone to this place…

"Jethro?" Tony's voice was soft.

"Yeah Tony?" Jethro glanced at him in the rearview mirror.

"I's sorry I's cried yesserday," Tony said looking down at his lap. Maybe if he said he was sorry he could stop what was coming.

Something in Jethro's gut told him to pull over. He quickly pulled into a parking lot and unstrapped his seatbelt.

"Tony it's understandable that you were upset. Your leg was hurting really badly! It's ok buddy."

Tony sniffled and to his horror, two tears dripped off the end of his nose. "a Nozzos n-not a-apposed a cry," he whimpered. "I-is that how comes you's sending me away?"

Jethro was out of the car like a shot and running around to Tony's door. Tony bristled in fear and his stomach dropped. It was worse than he thought. Jethro was going to throw him out of the car right here. Where would he go? What would he do? It had been a while since he had slept on the street, but Tony figured he'd done it before…he could do it again.

"Tony no one's gonna make you leave silly," Kelly said.

"Tony, sweetheart why would you even think something like that, angel? We aren't sending you away. We love you!" Shannon turned around in the front seat to reassure him.

Tony could see Jethro getting closer to his door and he couldn't help but flinch hard when the door was flung open. Shaking hands reached inside and began unfastening his car seat. Tony sighed in resignation. Jethro was going to do just what Shannon and Kelly said they were not going to do…Tony was so confused…Once Jethro had him unstrapped from the car seat he reached in and lifted Tony up carefully. He was surprised by the fact that the child was completely limp—he was so pliable Jethro could have done anything with him. It was then he realized that the child was beginning to panic again and he forced himself not to release his anger towards Tony's father and mother—bastards that they were—for whatever the hell they'd done to their child. Jethro had to get himself under control. He knew Tony would think he'd done something wrong if he didn't.

Jethro sat down on the running board on the side of the car and he sat Tony gently in his lap facing Jethro. Silent tears still streamed down the child's face, and the look of resignation broke Jethro's heart.

"I will never send you away from me," Jethro whispered fiercely. He cupped Tony's face gently in his hands and looked the boy in his eyes. "I am giving you my word, with God as my witness. I will never let you go willingly—I will never send you away, and I will fight to my last breath if anyone tries to take you away. You are my son. MY son. And I love you. And I will never. let. you. go." He kissed Tony on the forehead and Tony shut his eyes as more tears leaked from his eyes. "You are precious and wonderful, and I love you so much. Tony you are irreplaceable."

Tony began to sob quietly, holding his face in his hands, and Jethro pulled Tony's head close to rest on his chest. Running his hand lightly up and down Tony's back, Jethro shushed him softly as Shannon got out of the car and Kelly climbed across the street to be close by.

"You're ours sweet angel," Shannon said, leaning down to kiss the side of Tony's head.

"We love you Tony. We'd never send you away! We want you with us. Remember when we found you at the fair? We brought you home because we liked you. And now you're ours! And we love you sooooooooooo much," Kelly said.

Tony clung to Jethro's shirt and didn't respond to anyone. He was still so confused. Why were they going to that place? Was he still going to be able to go? Had he ruined the whole day? Finally the tears began to subside, leaving Tony tired and leaning heavily against Jethro. Jethro let him rest for a moment, but then sat him up gently.

"Tell me where all this came from," he said. He didn't ask. It was an order. Jethro was telling him he had to tell. Tony squirmed. "I know it's scary for you," Jethro added gently. "But it's really important that you tell me. We need to know so we can help you better."

Tony looked at Jethro for a long minute, looking for any sign that he was being tricked, but seeing nothing to indicate that. Could he tell anybody about what happened to him? He took a deep breath.

"Is we's goin' to the ocean?"

Jethro was confused by the question, but decided it was not the time to play games with his child. Surprises could come later, but right now Tony needed a straight answer. He nodded. "Yes," he said softly.

Tony's face seemed to shut down a bit. "Is we's goin' a get a room?"

Still confused, but playing along, Jethro shook his head. "Nope. We're going to go home and sleep in our own beds tonight."

Tony nodded, seeming to like that idea. "G-good, th-that's good," Tony whispered.

Picking up on the clues, Shannon spoke softly. "Tony did you stay in a hotel at the ocean once?"

There was a long pause and then Tony nodded, looking down at his lap.

"Did something happen? Did someone hurt you?"

"I's don't likes being up high," Tony whispered, seeming to be lost in the memory. Jethro suddenly recalled the day at Tony's birthday party when he'd gotten so scared up in the tunnel. He wondered if Tony would share this memory with them…it was obviously a painful one, and he braced himself, wishing he could protect Kelly from hearing it. Wishing he could have protected Tony from living it.

"Talk it out Tony," Jethro whispered, running his fingertips through Tony's hair.

"M-my m-mean-d-daddy…he gots'd m-mad a me…I's sleeped too long," Tony whispered, his speech broken and reverted back to old habits, lost in the memory. "He's yelled at me. Picked-ded me up…a-and he-he's t-tooked me out onna p-porch."

"Was the porch high up Tony?" Kelly piped up. Tony nodded.

"What did he do on the porch Tony?" Jethro asked quietly. "What happened to you?"

"H-he p-picked-ded me's up…" Jethro felt his gut clench. He didn't want to hear anymore. "A-and he's holded me on my a-arm a-and my l-leg…a-and he's throwed m-me o-ver a rail—o-only h-he did not let go," Tony said softly.

"He just dangled you there?" Shannon's voice was angry. She'd kill that dirty evil bastard with her bare hands!

"H-He sh-shaked-ded m-me s-some," Tony whispered, his stuttering growing worse. "Th-then h-he's w-whacked-ded m-my h-head o-onna rail. My's head hurted b-bad," he sniffled.

Jethro hugged him again. "I'm proud of you for telling us," he said softly. "And I can promise you that you won't ever have to be afraid like that when you're with us. We will protect you, and love you, and keep you safe. We don't want you to hurt, ever."

Tony nodded against Jethro's chest. He believed him. So they were going to go to the ocean. But it wouldn't be scary like last time. He wondered…

"Jethro?"

"Yeah Tony?"

"C-can we's a b-build a sand c-castle?"

Jethro chuckled. Tony liked that sound. It meant Jethro was happy. "Yeah Tony. Heck we can build a whole sand village, if it'll make you smile."

TBC…


	16. Gathering Information 1

**My Thank You Note: **Special thanks to **Psyche53** for your continued assistance with this story. Your help is amazing and priceless! Thanks also to **AlexDN** and **Moonlight Gypsy** for your support, friendship and encouragement. And as always, my deepest gratitude goes to my wonderful friend **Gotgoats** for her wonderful support and encouragement for writing this story—as well as being the best beta I've ever had AND she's a fabulous friend! Thank you soooooooooooooooooooooooooo much! Love ya pbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbt!  
><em><strong>Author's Note: Hold onto your hats folks…from here to the end it might be a bumpy ride…get the tissues and torches ready—you're gonna cry and wanna kill someone. I can guarantee it.<br>**_

xxx

**Daddy's Boy  
><strong>**Chapter 16: Gathering Information 1**

**Last Year: December 28**

Officer Mick Powers leaned back in his chair. His feet were on his desk, one arm tucked up behind his head, the other hand holding the case file he was reading. He'd gone home on Christmas night and told his wife about serving the wealthy man his papers in the jail today. He told Vanessa about the way the bastard had ranted and raved about his child, how much he hated him, how much he wished the child was dead. Vanessa had been shocked and appalled at the story. Mick told her about what the man had said about his wife's death.

Vanessa was a Kindergarten teacher and she had a big heart. She thought of a small boy she'd never met who had his mother ripped from him so soon, who was left to defend himself against his father.

"Mick," she said softly, her voice shaking just slightly. "Mick you have to investigate the mother's death. You have to investigate what that man said."

So Mick was doing exactly that. He was curious about why the man would make a statement such as Senior had—was more curious as to whether the man even realized what he'd said. Perhaps he was just under stress from being behind bars and had spoken without thinking about what he was saying. Perhaps he felt guilty about his wife's death for some reason.

The file indicated that Sophia DiNozzo, wife of Anthony DiNozzo Senior, had died from a blow to the head, obtained after she cut her wrists and had fallen, hitting her head on the side of the tub and killing her. Her death had not been deeply investigated and was ruled a suicide. Powers furrowed his eyebrows and thought hard to remember exactly what it was Anthony DiNozzo Senior had said on Christmas in the jail cell while he'd paced around angrily, fussing about the trouble his son was causing him…

"_Dirty little bastard. Knew I shoulda killed him while I had the chance. I could have dug a hole and no one would have been any wiser…coulda done him just like I did his mother…"_

Mick stood up and walked to his Lieutenant's office. He presented the case to his superior, told them about what had been said on Christmas at the jail and half an hour later, walked away with a grim smile.

The death of Sophia DiNozzo had just become an active investigation once again.

xxx

**This Year: April 19**

With an order from the judge, the LAPD exhumed the body of Tony's mother for a second autopsy. They called in a second medical examiner to double check and clarify the report of the previous medical examiner. On a rainy Wednesday afternoon, Sophia DiNozzo's body underwent its second autopsy.

On Thursday morning, the suspicious death investigation was upgraded to a murder investigation. It was shown in the original autopsy that Mrs. DiNozzo died from blunt trauma to the back of her head. The second autopsy revealed that there was not enough swelling in her brain for the blunt trauma to have been the cause of death. It was certainly an accelerant, but it was not the primary cause. The cause of death was exsanguination. She had bled to death thanks to the cuts on her wrists. The key element to the investigation, however, was the fact that the cuts made to her wrists were identical in depth and length—something that likely would not have happened had she cut herself. The cuts also were made from the inside of her forearm and down her towards her hands—the opposite direction usually cut by someone injuring themselves. The blade that was used was another clue. A common household blade that was a bit dull would likely have been touched by multiple people in the household, not just Mrs. DiNozzo.

Whoever killed Sophia DiNozzo had wiped the blade clean before settling in her hands for her fingerprints to be left behind.

What the killer didn't realize was he also left a partial thumb print—right on the base of the blade. It didn't take long for the computer to offer results of the thumb print.

Mick Powers read the forensic report and shook his head in disbelief. Not only had Anthony DiNozzo Senior incriminated himself in the jail when he was ranting and raving…but he'd also left behind forensic evidence to back it up. Powers didn't understand though, how DiNozzo could have made sure his wife hit her head on the tub. It wasn't making sense.

He expressed his concerns to his Lieutenant, who contacted the DA. It didn't take him long to get a search warrant for the DiNozzo home.

Something didn't add up.

xxx

**This Year: April 24**

Powers and his partner checked the bathroom and everything in it for blood spatter, but found none. He scratched his head as he walked through the upstairs of the unoccupied house. DiNozzo still owned the home, so all of the family's belongings were still in the house—including Tony's meager amount of belongings—some clothes, a bed, a stuffed pig that looked like it held the remnants of many bloody and tearful nights. It made Mick Powers angry—it made him want to bring this sonofabitch to justice for hurting his family. They bagged the pig and tagged it as evidence of…something.

And then…and then he walked into the office upstairs. A nice room…it had a large fireplace on one wall…huge windows…nice furnishings. Powers immediately picked up on the sight of the broken vase that had been swept into the trashcan. He strolled around the room, looking for the monsters and skeletons hiding in the closets in this house, and stopped in front of the fireplace. There was something…he blinked in surprise. A piece of charred but not completely burned fabric…as though it hadn't been thrown far enough into the fire and the fire had gone out before consuming it entirely. There was also a button from a shirt it looked like…and propped next to the fireplace, shaped exactly like the four inch long, inch wide gash along the side of Sophia DiNozzo's head stood a fire poker.

Using rubber gloves, Powers lifted it carefully and held it up to the light. When he turned it over his eyes widened and his face split into a brilliant smile.

"Hey Tommy!" he called. "C'mere! I gotta murder weapon! I'd bet a month's salary on it!"

xxx

**This Year: May 3**

Jethro received a phone call while he was at work from Anne Joseph. She explained that there was an open murder investigation being conducted surrounding Tony's mother's death. She asked Jethro if Tony was living with his parents when she died, and Jethro confirmed that he was, as Tony knew that his mother was "inna heavens" and that his father was the one who threw him out and made him leave.

Anne explained to Jethro that Tony would be assigned a Guardian Ad Litem for the duration of the legal procedures. The Guardian Ad Litem was a neutral person unrelated to Tony or Gibbs' family, who would be conducting interviews with Tony and the Gibbses, as well as Stacy, Ted, and Anne, meeting with court and law enforcement officers, and being the person responsible for making choices that were in Tony's best interest and reporting those findings to the court. Tony would be interviewed by court appointed child psychologists to get his account of what happened while he was living with his parents, and now it seemed, to see if the child knew any of the details surrounding his mother's death.

Jethro didn't understand why he or Shannon could not fulfill the role of Guardian Ad Litem since they had been assigned long term custody of Tony back in the fall. Anne patiently explained the importance of having an outside party work with Tony, and Jethro eventually reluctantly agreed. Anne assured him that no one was trying to take Tony away from them, and that they were actually there to help. The Gibbses were the ideal choice for housing placement, and were good candidates for adoption. Jethro and Shannon were both nervous about the involvement of this complete stranger, but they were at the mercy of the courts—if they wanted to keep Tony—if they wanted a chance to adopt him—they had to play by the rules—they had to accept this stranger's help. They had no choice.

xxx

**Beach**

Jethro and Shannon had selected a state beach to take the children to. Typically they headed out to Del Mar Beach, but this time decided to head up the coast instead. The fair where Jethro found Tony had been held at Del Mar Beach. Jethro and Shannon were afraid if they went back to the place where they found him, Tony might be afraid they were going to leave him again.

They decided to visit the beautiful San Onofre Trestles Beach about forty minutes from their house. It was a beautiful day—perfect weather, perfect surf, not a hotel in sight—which Tony liked. It was wonderful. The Gibbses decided on a spot towards the north-eastern end of the beach. They could see the Wildlife Preserve not far from where they parked the car.

Kelly nearly vibrated with excitement—Tony had not seen her this excited since Christmas morning. And, much like Christmas morning, Tony didn't quite understand why she was so excited. Tony would be expected to stay on the blanket, not get dirty, and especially not get wet.

When Jethro parked the car, he selected a secluded spot where no one was around. Then he opened the front and back doors creating a stall for the children to quickly change into their swimsuits in with Shannon's help while he watched for people who didn't need an eyeful of his children. Once the children were changed, Jethro opened the trunk. He handed bags to Shannon, the umbrella and a small bag to Kelly, and then he smiled at Tony.

"Do you want a ride to the beach?"

Tony looked uncertain, but finally nodded. His leg still wasn't feeling very good. Jethro pulled the large cooler out of the back of the SUV and shut the hatch, locking it securely. Then he patted the lid of the cooler. "Hop on kiddo," he instructed. "And make sure you sit still ok?"

Tony nodded, still looking unsure, and sat down carefully on the cooler. Jethro walked up behind him and looked down at him as Tony stared up at him. "You upside downed," Tony exclaimed with a giggle. Jethro kissed the boy's forehead and glanced out to the beach where Shannon and Kelly were already making their way across the sand.

"Here we go," Jethro said and he lifted the cooler off the ground. Tony's eyes widened and he felt a little bit afraid, but he knew that Jethro wouldn't ever hurt him. Jethro would not let him fall. By the time they reached the spot that Shannon and Kelly had selected, Tony was laughing hysterically, completely overrun with contagious giggles, his smile bright and wide, and his eyes twinkling.

Kelly wanted to get in the ocean, but Tony was afraid of getting dirty and wet. Jethro insisted that Tony should at least put his feet in the water.

"'sa long ways over there," Tony said softly, staring at the ocean some fifteen yards away from where they were sitting.

Jethro scooped him up and slung him up on his shoulders. "We're going to play Tony, and have fun. I promise you are safe with me," Jethro said. "I promise nothing bad will happen to you. Do you trust me?"

Tony watched him for a moment, and then nodded. "I trust you Jethro," Tony said quietly.

"Then you stay up there on my shoulders, and we'll have a big time, ok? Let's go play with Kelly and Mommy."

Tony squealed and tensed up when Jethro walked out into the ocean. When he was in it up to his waist, Jethro was wincing because of the iron fisted grip Tony had on his short marine haircut. When they went out to Jethro's armpits, Tony's eyes were wide and his grip had moved from Jethro's hair to his ears. Jethro had a gentle but firm hold on Tony's ankles—the child was not going to fall in the water.

Jethro dipped down a little and Tony screeched in fear when his foot hit the water and all but stood up on Jethro's shoulders. Jethro immediately headed for shallower water.

"You okay Tony?" Jethro asked as he set his boy carefully on the shore and knelt in front of him.

Tony nodded and looked at his lap.

"Hey…what is it," Jethro asked softly.

Tony looked up at him. "I's scared," he whispered.

Jethro sat down next to Tony and draped an arm around his shoulders. "Why ya scared Littlest?"

Tony shuddered. "They so much water inna ocean," he said softly. "A-and I do not know how a swim."

"You don't?" Jethro figured as much but played along to see what Tony would tell him.

Tony shook his head sadly. "Nope. M-my mean-d-daddy said if they's taught me a swim then they's couldn't thwow me inna river c-cause I'd get out again," he murmured.

"Well I'll tell you what," Jethro said firmly. "You will be learning to swim very soon. I will teach you. And it won't be scary ok?"

Tony was still for a minute then he nodded. "You's won't thwow me inna river," he said, almost to himself.

Jethro hugged him. "No, I won't. And if you were to fall in by accident I would want you to be able to get back out. You can take that to the bank kiddo. Not ever gonna hurt you. Now," he said suddenly sitting up straight. Tony looked up at him. "How's about we build that sand village?"

xxx

Later that afternoon after the sandwiches had been eaten and a huge sand village had been constructed—truly it filled most of the fifteen yards of space between the blankets and the ocean, and was complete with streets, buildings, rivers, and moats—Jethro sat on the blanket with Tony sound asleep in his lap. His arms were wrapped securely around the little boy and one of Tony's hands was curled but resting on Jethro's chest near his own cheek, while the other dangled limply behind him. Jethro rocked him gently, murmured to him softly, and was content to watch the waves. Shannon and Kelly had gone for a walk over into the wildlife preserve.

Jethro worried about what was going to happen next. What would take place during the court hearings? Was there any way possible that Senior would be able to take Tony back? Was there any way the man could avoid prison for his crimes? Jethro had promised Tony that he'd be safe. He intended to keep that promise.

In the dark of the night after the phone call from Anne Joseph, Shannon and Jethro had voiced their concerns, and together they had made a decision. They were not going to lose Tony. They were not going to give him back to his father. If the justice system failed—if Tony was going to be sent back to his father—the Gibbses were going to disappear. They would leave in the night, and they would take Tony with them. They'd drift south into Mexico, find a quiet town, and set up house there under a name no one had ever heard of. Tony was their family now, and the two young parents vowed they would do anything it took to keep him safe.

A while later, Shannon and Kelly returned, all smiles and giggles, going on and on about the critters they'd seen and the beautiful flowers and plants growing in the wildlife preserve. Jethro asked them if they wanted to get back into the ocean at all, and they all agreed that they were ready to call it a day. So they packed up the cooler, shoved their belongings back into the bags and collapsed the umbrella. Jethro offered to pass Tony off to Shannon, but Shannon shook her head and made two trips to the car, loading up their things, while Jethro got Tony settled comfortably in his car seat. The little boy was still sound asleep.

The young father smiled at his boy, cheeks colored slightly pink from the exposure to the sun, and to Jethro's delight, his little nose was covered in sun freckles. He ran an affectionate hand over his child's hair and smiled softly before shutting the door gently. Jethro scooped Kelly up and hugged her, before tickling her all the way around the back of the car and tucking her securely into her booster seat. Kelly giggled and smooshed her Daddy's face between her hands.

"I love you Daddy," Kelly whispered as he buckled her in. She knew how to do it, but sometimes it was ok to let Daddy fuss over her.

"Love you too Baby Girl," Jethro whispered. He shut the door and looked up to see his wife smirking at him. "What?"

Shannon shook her head and stepped right up into his space, putting her lips near his ear. "Do you know how sexy it is to see a good dad with his kids?" There was something flashing in her eyes—passion? Arousal?

Jethro smirked. "No sexier than watching you with them," he returned. He leaned in and kissed her, his hand rubbing over her stomach and smiled. "The only thing sexier than that is seeing you pregnant," he whispered in her ear, before kissing her again.

Shannon smiled and got in the car. They drove exactly three miles before both of the children were sound asleep in the back seat, exhausted by their fun day.

xxx

It wasn't quite dark when the Gibbses returned home. They gently woke up the children and helped them out of the car. They decided they would deal with the stuff from the beach later; now was the time for getting baths, dinner, and bedtime stories.

The Gibbses were enjoying a quiet dinner when the doorbell rang. Tony's eyes immediately flashed in fear, but that wasn't unusual—he had the same reaction each time the doorbell rang. Jethro wondered if he was afraid of being taken away again. He knew that one day soon Anne Joseph was going to come over with the Guardian Ad Litem and he wondered if they should prepare Tony for her visit. He'd ask Shannon about it later.

"I'll get it," Jethro said, getting up.

Jethro walked through the living room and opened the door. He blinked in surprise.

"Hi there," Pam St. James said meekly, with a timid wave. "Is Tony home? Griffin would like to talk to him."

"Uhh sure. Come in, I'll get him," Jethro walked back to the kitchen where everyone was still eating. "Tony, Griffin is here."

"What does _he_ want," Kelly snapped haughtily. She didn't like that kid, had never liked that kid, and had no plans to ever _start_ liking that kid. They all followed Jethro and Tony into the living room where Griffin and his mother were sitting on the couch.

Griffin's arm was in a large, bright blue cast.

"Hi Tony," Griffin said softly. He looked shyly up at Tony, but didn't look him in the eyes.

Tony took a step closer to Jethro. "Hi," he mumbled.

"What do _you_ want with my Tony," Kelly asked.

"I um…That is…I came to say…um…thanks," Griffin bit out slowly. "Thanks for um…for helping me when I hurt my arm."

"Is it hurted bad?" Tony peeked out from Jethro's leg a bit more, taking some interest in the cast on Griffin's arm. He'd never seen anything like that before! When his leg had looked like Griffin's arm, his mean-daddy just made him go on—didn't even take him to the doctor!

"I broke my arm," Griffin explained softly. "I broke it when I wrecked my bike."

Kelly looked from Tony to Griffin and back to Tony. "What the heck did you do to help him? And _why_ would you want to?"

Tony's ears turned pink and he stared at his shoes. Griffin's mother reached out her hand for Tony but he flinched back, suddenly nervous. Jethro reached a soothing hand down to rest on his back. "It was a nice thing you did Tony," Jethro said. "Nothing to be ashamed of."

"Tony I cannot thank you enough for helping my Griffin. That was very nice of you. And I know Griffin hasn't always been nice to you, so I think that made you helping him even nicer and more special," Pam said with a gentle smile.

"Why did you help me?" Griffin asked, staring from his arm to Tony and back again. He still couldn't look Tony in the eyes.

Tony shrugged.

Jethro knelt beside him. "Tony? You don't have to be shy kiddo. It's alright. Everyone is just so proud of how brave you were. We want to hear you talk about it. That's all," he said.

Tony looked up at Jethro and tears filled his eyes but didn't spill over. "E-everybody w-will l-laugh a me," Tony whispered, leaning his head close to Jethro's ear.

"No way," Jethro said. "Nobody here will laugh at you for being nice to someone. Now why don't you talk to Griffin."

Jethro gently turned Tony so he could look at Griffin.

"I um…I helpeded you…a cause…um…a cause you was hurted and you needed me to get the bike o-off you."

"But I have always been mean to you—I laugh at you and call you names and pick on your dog and—" Griffin realized just how much he was owning up to and he decided to quit talking before he landed himself in a ton of trouble.

"I helpeded you a cause Jethro and Shannon and Kelly helpeded me," Tony whispered. "I was hungwy and my leg hurted and they's helpeded me…I saw you was hurted and thinked maybe I's should helpeded you too."

Kelly's mouth gaped open like a fish. She'd wondered all day long why Tony had helped Big Stupid Griffin when he got hurt. Now though…boy, did Tony know how to put Kelly in her place.

Shannon looked at Jethro and they both smiled, amazed at what a sweet child they had on their hands. Pam sniffled. "Thank you Tony," she said softly.

Griffin stared at Tony, still shocked by what Tony said. Finally he dug into his pocket with his good hand and pulled out a black marker. "Do you want to draw on my cast?"

Tony stared at him, wondering if this was a trick. Why would he want to mess up Griffin's cast? It was pretty and blue and didn't have anything on it—why would you mess it up? If he messed it up he had no doubt that Griffin would pound him into goo.

"What?" Tony asked, hoping someone would tell him he didn't have to do it.

"When a person has a cast like mine they get everybody to draw or write on it. You can be first, since you helped me and all," Griffin explained.

"It's alright Tony," Shannon said. "You might have a cast one day and you can get it signed too."

Tony stared up at her. "I do not want Griffin to b-beat me up," he murmured.

"I won't beat you up Tony," Griffin said. "I promise," he added crossing his heart.

Tony thought about it for a long moment and then nodded. "Okay," he said quietly. "But I's only g-gonna write a l-little bit."

"That's ok Tony," Griffin said. He held out the marker and Tony timidly reached for it.

Tony took the cap off the marker and held it in shaky fingers. He wondered what he should put on the cast. He knew his letters, and knew how to write all of them, but he didn't know how to make words with them. He stared up at Jethro, silently beseeching the older man for help. Jethro smiled.

"If you need help spelling, just let me know," Jethro said.

"Where do I write," Tony asked, his voice just barely a whisper.

"Anywhere on the blue," Pam said.

Tony looked up and down Griffin's arm. He'd broken his arm in such a way that the cast ran from the middle of his upper arm all the way down to the tips of his fingers.

Tony picked the spot on the inside of Griffin's wrist where he was likely never to notice it. Then he very carefully wrote his name.

T O N Y

"Th-there a go," Tony whispered. "It's ok?"

Griffin nodded. "It's good. Thanks Tony. Kelly you wanna sign it?"

Kelly stared at the boy for a long moment then nodded and accepted the marker. She quickly wrote her name and then handed the marker back to Griffin.

"Well we didn't mean to interrupt," Pam said. "But Griffin really wanted to come thank Tony and we noticed you all just got home."

The Gibbses thanked the St. Jameses for coming by and shut the door quietly behind them. Jethro looked at Shannon who smiled and shrugged. They looked at Kelly and Tony who were watching them closely.

Finally Tony spoke and his words caused Shannon and Jethro to freeze in surprise.

"Can we's a go eat more now?"

It was the first time since they'd met Tony last fall that the child had ever asked for food. It was a milestone—a sign of healing—a step in the right direction. Tony had always accepted food when offered, but he'd never, _ever_ asked for it. They both smiled and Shannon's eyes filled with tears. Jethro nodded and patted his son on the back, proud of him.

"Yeah," Jethro said, swallowing down his own emotion and ruffling Tony's hair. "Absolutely buddy. Let's go eat."

TBC…


	17. Gathering Information 2

**Disclaimer: **I found the lyrics to the lullaby "_Daddy's Stayin' Home_" on Rebop Recordings, copyright 1996. They aren't mine.  
><strong>Warning:<strong> Please fasten your safety belts…it's going to be the start of a bumpy ride!

_Thanks as always to my beta Gotgoats (hahaha I almost typed "GotGibbs" lmao hahaha) for her wonderful support and help and friendship. You rock, sister! :) Much love! Pbbbbbbt_

**Daddy's Boy  
><strong>**Chapter 17: Gathering Information 2**

Sunday night found the Gibbses asleep in their beds. After their exciting day at the beach they were all tired and ready for a good night's rest. The terror stricken scream from Tony's room had Jethro stumbling down the hall with Shannon right behind him.

Tony was sitting up in bed again, his head in his hands and his knees tucked up close to his chest. His eyes were open wide and he was screaming and screeching in terror at whatever he was seeing in his mind's eye. Understanding what was going on this time, Jethro immediately climbed on the bed and pulled him close and began rocking him while Shannon spoke to Tony.

"Tony? Tony come on angel, it's time to wake up. You're safe Tony. Just calm down sweet baby it's alright," she murmured softly, close enough that Tony could hear her, but not so loud that she would wake Kelly up. Unfortunately, Tony's screams woke Kelly and a moment later she appeared in the doorway, eyes wide in fear and concern, wondering what was wrong with her brother.

"Why's Tony screaming? What's wrong with him?"

"He's having a bad dream Sweetheart," Shannon said. "He's just scared is all. There is nothing here that will hurt either of you though, so you're safe. Want me to walk you back to bed?"

Kelly nodded and looked back over her shoulder repeatedly as Shannon gently guided her out of the room and back to her bed. She sat with her oldest child and stroked her hair and face gently until Kelly settled back into sleep. She stayed there in case Tony's screams woke Kelly up again, knowing that she'd need to sooth her daughter's fears.

Across the hall, Jethro scooped Tony up and moved to the rocker with him. He sat with Tony in his lap, in a position they'd held many times before, and he rocked back and forth. He rubbed his hands up and down Tony's arms and legs, reassuring him through touch that he was safe, that he was home, that he was with Jethro and that nothing was going to hurt him. Running out of ideas, Jethro finally began to sing softly in the darkened room.

_Sleepy eyes, Sleepyhead,  
>Sleepy baby go to bed<br>Daddy loves you, don't you know?  
>Daddy's never going to go<br>No, no no...  
><em>'_Cause Daddy's stayin' home_

_Rock the cradle with a song  
>Sleepy baby, won't be long<br>You'll be dreamin' safe 'til dawn  
>Daddy's never never goin'<br>No, no, no...  
>'Cause daddy's stayin' home<em>

_If I'm gone for a minute  
>Well, that's a minute too long<br>I start to think about your cradle  
>With little you in it<br>And I rush right back with a song_

_I know that you'll be risin' with the sun  
>Time to play and have some fun<br>But now it's time to drift away  
>Daddy's always goin' to stay<br>With you, you , you  
>Yes, your Daddy's stayin' home<br>Daddy's stayin' home_

Jethro lost count of how many times he murmured the words to the song, before Tony finally quieted, dropping limply against Jethro's chest, breathing hard, sweat on his forehead, sound asleep. Smiling gently, he hugged the little boy close to him and sang the song softly one more time before carefully depositing Tony in his bed. He pulled the covers up and ran a hand over the child's hair and smiled sadly, wanting to make it better for his boy.

He'd just turned to head back to his own room when Tony shuffled under the covers.

"Jethro?" came the very sleepy sounding voice from across the room. Jethro rushed quietly back to Tony's side.

"Hey bud," he whispered. "What ya doin' awake?"

Tony's brow furrowed in the dim night-light lit room. "Mmmm dunno," he whispered back. "I's slee—" he yawned and then grinned, "—eepy," he finished and he and Jethro shared a chuckle.

Jethro sat on the edge of Tony's bed and ran his fingers through Tony's hair. "Should go back to sleep," he whispered. "Too early for you to be awake."

Tony yawned again and his eyes drooped to half mast. "Timeizit?"

Jethro smiled. "Nearly two in the morning," he said softly. "Long time before the sun comes up."

"Too early…you's a be…'wake too?"

Jethro nodded. "Yep," he said. "Too early for me to be awake too."

Tony's eyebrows knit together. "You's a should go gets back in bed Jethro," he said.

"I'll stay here until you fall asleep," Jethro said softly. "I'll go back to bed then."

Tony yawned again. "I's don' wanna sleep," he murmured, his eyes drooping lower.

"You need to sleep baby," Jethro said softly. "We have a long day tomorrow."

"Jethro?"

"Yeah Tony?"

"Is we gonna see nice doctors amorrow?"

Jethro took a deep breath. Tomorrow they were heading up to Los Angeles to see Dr. Trexler about Tony's leg. After that they were going for Tony's first visit to the court appointed child psychologist. He had no idea what that was going to entail, and they were going to meet their guardian ad litem while they were there.

"I think they'll be nice," Jethro said. "You already know Dr. Trexler."

"He my leg doctor," Tony said with another yawn.

Jethro smiled.

"He gonna cut off my leg Jethro?"

"What? Of course not! Why would you think that?"

Tony looked away and shrugged. He tried to turn over and roll away from Jethro but Jethro stopped him.

"Tony? Son what's wrong?"

Tony let out a quiet sob. "M-my m-mean d-daddy," he whimpered through the tears.

Jethro scooped him up and hugged him. "What about him?" He wanted to kill the sonofabitch. If he could get away with it he'd kill him first chance he got for what he did to Tony. No child—hell no _person_ should ever hurt this much. Jethro knew that the justice system was hard at work to punish this bastard for what he did to his child, and possibly his wife. But that didn't take away Jethro's desire to hold the gun himself.

Except a gun would be too merciful.

Tony sniffled and burrowed into Jethro's white t-shirt a bit, crying quietly. Jethro ran his hands up and down Tony's back and it was a few moments before Tony could speak.

"I…Jethro…I's sorry," he whimpered.

"What? Sorry for what? Tony you haven't done anything wrong! Nothing wrong at all!"

"I…I did…I's bad…I's sorry…I…" Tony took a shuddering breath and another sob escaped him. "I's lied a you."

Jethro froze, wondering what the child was talking about. He put a finger under Tony's chin and gently lifted the child's face. "Tell me son," he said softly. "I'm not angry, and I won't be angry, but please. Tell Daddy."

Tony took a deep breath and let out a shuddering sigh. "You's a member the day you found me?"

Jethro smiled and nodded. "Happy day for me," he said, tweaking Tony's nose and causing the child to grin.

"You asked-ded me what I done a my leg," Tony said. Jethro's gut clenched into an icy ball. He didn't want to know he didn't want to know he didn't want to know…

"I remember Tony," Jethro said hoarsely. "You said you hurt it by falling down. Did you hurt your leg some other way?"

Tony sniffled and two huge tears spilled down his cheeks and he nodded.

"Can you tell me what happened?"

Fear filled Tony's eyes and he shook his head. "M-my m-mean d-daddy s-say I-I g-gonna g-get inna t-trouble i-if I's t-tell," he whispered, stuttering in fear. "H-he s-say n-no one g-gonna b-b'lieve m-me."

The icy ball in Jethro's gut doubled in size.

"You gotta tell me baby," he urged gently. "I promise I will believe you. I'll always believe you."

In the darkness, Tony began to whisper his horror story to Jethro.

xxx

The next morning Jethro, Shannon and Tony loaded up in the car and headed an hour or so north to Los Angeles. Kelly was at school and would be going to Maddie's house to play afterwards. Shannon had noticed that Jethro was stonily quiet all morning, and that Tony was especially clingy to him. She'd headed back to bed the night before after Kelly had gone to sleep. She didn't realize that Jethro had stayed the rest of the night in Tony's room, even after the child had gone to sleep. He sat in the rocker and fumed all night long, thinking about what the child had told him.

As they drove, Shannon watched her husband. "Jethro," she said softly. "Is everything ok?"

Jethro glanced at her and she could see the pain in his eyes. "Yeah Honey," he said. "Everything is going to be ok."

That told her all she needed to know. It wasn't ok now, but it would (hopefully) be in the future, and Jethro didn't want to upset Tony. She nodded and then glanced over her shoulder at the tiny little boy in the backseat who was looking at the book about Community Helpers that he'd gotten for his birthday.

"Shannon?"

"Yes honey?"

"I's gonna be a poe-leece off'ser when I's grow up," Tony stated proudly. He held up the book for Shannon to see the picture of the officer wearing the black uniform with the shiny badge.

"You'd be an excellent police officer Tony," Shannon said. "Anything you want to become, we will be proud of you."

Tony stared at the book for a minute. "My mean daddy say the poe-leece is bad," he said softly. "But I thinks that's a cause my mean daddy is so mean. When he comed a my school and tried a taked me aways, the poe-leece comed that day and taked him aways insteada me."

"The police are there to help people stay safe," Shannon told him. She glanced at Jethro out of the corner of her eye and could see the way he gripped the steering wheel—and noticed they'd sped up considerably.

"Safe is good," Tony said softly, turning back to his book. "I likes safe."

xxx

Jethro helped Tony hop down from his car seat onto the pavement at Dr. Trexler's office when Tony let out a pained grunt and wobbled badly. Jethro immediately steadied him and glanced at him carefully.

"You ok?"

Tony nodded. "I's almost falled down!"

Jethro's lips formed a thinner line and he nodded. "I know I saw," he said softly. "You ok to walk?"

Tony took a step and wobbled again and his little face contorted with pain. "It hurting," he said softly, gripping at Jethro's pants leg.

Shannon peeked around the front of the car. "You guys ok?"

Jethro nodded. "I'm going to carry you ok?"

Tony nodded, still gripping Jethro's pants. Jethro gently hooked his hands under Tony's arms and lifted him up and together they all went inside.

xxx

Dr. Trexler looked at Tony's leg and frowned. Indeed, the brace was not helping. "Well we could try a different type of brace," he said, running his fingers lightly down the area on Tony's thigh, just above his knee, where the most swelling was. Tony bit his lower lip to keep from crying out in pain at even the lightest pressure on his leg.

"Does that hurt Tony?" The doctor was gentle and his voice was soft. Tony liked him. He looked at him shyly.

Tony looked up at Jethro, uncertain if it was alright to admit that it not only hurt, but it hurt reeeally bad. Jethro took a step closer to Tony and rubbed his shoulder gently. "It's ok to tell him if it hurts," he said gently. "You won't get in trouble."

Tony was quiet for a minute and the doctor gently prodded an area that looked particularly painful and Tony whimpered. His face clouded with pain and tears streamed down his face. "It hurting," Tony said softly, his voice wobbling over the tears.

"Ok almost done," Dr. Trexler said softly. He hated this part of his job—hated making kids cry. He touched another spot on Tony's leg where the bone was bent unnaturally and Tony began to cry harder, the low wailing sort of cry that is commonly heard from children in doctor's offices.

Jethro wrapped an arm around Tony's shoulders and pressed a kiss to the top of Tony's head. He shoved thoughts of Senior from his mind and focused on giving Tony the comfort he needed. Shannon was at the other end of the table, watching the doctor closely, trying to learn all she could about Tony's little leg so she could help him at home better. Tony sobbed and whimpered, tears streamed down his face and he clutched tightly at Jethro.

A few minutes later Dr. Trexler sat back on his rolling stool and rubbed his chin, watching sadly as Jethro pulled Tony into his lap and comforted him.

"Let me ask you," the doctor said quietly, looking seriously at the young parents sitting before him. "What would you like me to do? Would you like to try a different brace or would you like me to operate?"

"Which one will fix his leg the fastest?" Jethro asked, hugging Tony closer.

"Honestly? The surgery."

Jethro looked at Shannon. "We just don't want him to hurt anymore," Gibbs said softly. "Look at him," he said, indicating the small whimpering child on his lap. "He's in pain all the time. He can't run or play like the other kids…he isn't getting the childhood he deserves because of his leg. We need to fix it and we need to do it as soon as possible."

Dr. Trexler looked at Shannon. "What do you think?"

"I agree with Jethro," Shannon said immediately, without hesitation. They'd talked it over at home. They knew he would ask this question. They had already made their decision.

Dr. Trexler nodded and made a note on the chart. "Let me just step out and get my calendar. I'll also call the social worker to come in and help us with the paperwork for his Medicaid."

Tony's ears perked up at the words "social worker." The last time he'd been to a doctor and they'd started talking about a social worker, Miss Anne had showed up and taken him away from Shannon and Jethro. He looked fearfully up at Jethro.

"Is you gonna send me away?"

"What? No of course not! Why?"

"Last times I's atta doctor the sociable worker maked me go away," Tony said softly.

"That was a different situation, Sweetie," Shannon said softly. "That isn't going to happen this time."

Dr. Trexler and the social worker came into the room, each carrying papers with them. They scheduled Tony's surgery for July. Tony could miss daycare without any consequence. Kelly would be out of school for the summer, and during the summer months it was easier for Shannon to take time off if she needed it. Jethro had some leave, but not enough to cover Tony's entire recovery period.

They thanked Dr. Trexler, who promised to be in touch closer to time to do the surgery to give more details about times, locations, and the like, and then they were on their way.

xxx

Jethro followed the directions that Anne Joseph had given him on how to find the child psychologist's office. He rolled the SUV to a stop and for a long moment sat staring at the building. Tony was in the back, looking at his Community Helpers book again. They'd stopped for lunch and had hamburgers and milkshakes. Beside him, Shannon looked at the building with as much trepidation as Jethro did. Neither of them knew what would happen inside this building. Neither of them could protect Tony from it either—they had to do what they were told in here or Tony would be sent to live with another family—or, worst case scenario, back to his father if the justice system failed.

"You ready Tony?" Jethro's voice was soft, calm. Totally belying all of the emotions churning inside of him. His gut told him to grab his child and run like hell. His brain told him that he had to play this legal game.

Tony put down his book. "Ok," he said. "Jethro?"

"Yeah Tony?"

"What we gonna do here?"

"Well you're going to meet a nice man and he's going to play with you," Jethro said.

"Do you and Shannon get to come play too?"

"I'm…I don't know Tony," Jethro said. "We'll have to see alright?"

"I don't want to go if you don't get to come too. You's my favoritest play buddy ever," Tony said.

Jethro swallowed the lump in his throat and looked at his wife. God help them all if the court took their child from them. "Let's go," he said softly.

Tony's leg was hurting after his appointment. The doctor had given him a shot to try and ease some of the pain near Tony's knee, but so far it wasn't helping. Jethro lifted him out of the car and carried him inside.

The lady at the desk looked like she could be someone's grandmother. Her hair was gray and her glasses were thick and settled on the tip of her nose. What surprised Jethro was that for a pediatrician's office, her face was set into a seemingly permanent frown. She spoke pleasantly though, and was very nice to Tony, offering him crayons to color with and a stack of paper off of her printer. Tony thanked her politely and the trio headed for an empty row of seats.

Jethro helped Tony settle on the floor and the child curled up and began to color while they waited. It wasn't long before the door opened and a young woman stuck her head out. "Anthony DiNozzo?"

Tony looked up when the woman said his name. Then he looked at Jethro. "Do I go?"

Jethro nodded. "Yeah buddy. Go ahead. We'll be here waiting for you."

Tony grabbed Jethro's hand. "But I want you to go too! Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeease," Tony begged. He turned to the woman in the doorway. "Please let my Jethro come with me? Pleeeeeeeeeeease!"

"For this first time it's better if you come by yourself," she said gently.

"No," Tony huffed, crossing his arms. He was tired, and he didn't feel good, and his leg hurt, and he didn't want to leave Jethro in this strange place and go off by himself. "I want my Jethro," he said softly, looking at his light up tennis shoes.

"Tony," Jethro said. "You won't be gone long! Besides—all the good toys are in the back! You want to play right?"

Tony nodded.

Jethro smiled. "Well then ya gotta head back with the nice lady. What's your name?" he asked the girl.

"My name is Natasha," she said with a smile.

"Seeee you have a new friend—her name is Natasha."

"Don't want a new friend," Tony whispered. "Just wanna play with you. I don't like this place."

Jethro hated this already. He'd never felt quite so helpless. He sighed. "Tony I'm sorry, but you have to go. You don't get a choice in this."

Tony's eyes filled with tears again and his bottom lip quivered. Jethro scooped him up and hugged him. "Hey," he said. "I'll be right here the whole time. If you need me you just yell and I'll come running ok?"

Tony sniffled but nodded.

"We have to do this Tony, even though it's hard. These are the people who get to decide if we can adopt you. They just want to play with you and talk a bit. It won't be bad and with all those toys and Natasha, you'll have a nice time."

"How do I know you won't leave me," Tony said softly.

Jethro closed his eyes and thought for a minute, wracking his brain and wondering what to do. He took off his watch and strapped it onto Tony's arm. "You have to go play for one hour—" he showed Tony how the hour works. "When the long arm gets back to the three you can come see me again ok? I'll be sitting right here."

"You promise?"

Jethro kissed Tony's cheek and nodded. "Pinky swear," he said with a grin.

Tony stopped and kissed Shannon on the cheek before following Natasha out of the waiting room. She'd already made a note of the huge attachment Tony displayed to his guardians. It appeared healthy and well balanced, though Tony did show a distinct bond and very close relationship with Mr. Gibbs.

Natasha led Tony to a room that had toys inside of it and a large mirror on one wall. There were toys on the shelf on the opposite walls and a bright, colorful rug on the floor. The walls were painted a pretty pastel turquoise color and there was a table with chairs around it in the middle of the room. Tony moved to the chair in the room, immediately sitting down. His leg was still hurting. He was not happy about this. Not at all.

"You can go ahead and start playing if you want to," Natasha told him. "I've gotta go get something and let the doctor know you're ready for him to come play too ok?"

Tony nodded and did not move from the chair. From inside the observation booth, behind the mirror in a connecting room, Dr. Dovola sat watching Tony's entrance. He was intrigued by the quiet way the child moved, wanted to know more about the way he limped, and was surprised to see that he didn't show the slightest interest in the toys in the room. He simply sat at the table, and waited.

He decided to watch Tony for a few more minutes. Natasha joined him in the observation room and reported her initial observations to him. Dr. Dovola stood up and straightened his tie and smoothed a hand over his hair. Natasha would stay in the room and observe while Tony and the doctor played and talked in the room.

On the other side of the mirror, Tony sat still in the chair, trying to breathe slowly—in through his mouth out through his nose like Shannon had taught him, trying not to get too scared, and trying to relax his leg. He wondered what this doctor would be like, if he would be nice or mean, fat or thin, smart or silly, funny or serious. Tony could hear the sound of someone moving around right outside the room.

Finally the door opened. Maybe Natasha or the doctor would come and they could get this over with. Tony didn't want to play with these people, he just wanted to be finished.

The door opened and a very large, very tall man stepped into the room.

"Good afternoon Anthony!" The doctor's voice was loud and booming. His eyes were green and watching his every move. He was tall and he towered over Tony.

Tony's eyes widened in fear. All of his worst nightmares had just come to pass.

Tony took a deep breath. "JETHROOOO!" his cries could be heard throughout the entire building.

TBC…


	18. Gathering Information 3

**Author's Note: **Thanks to GotGoats for all your help with this chapter—especially the suggestions on the bedroom decorations :) You rock dude! Love ya pbbbbbbbbbbbbbt  
><strong>Warning: <strong>Get your tissues ready. I needed one.

**Daddy's Boy  
><strong>**Chapter 18: Gathering Information 3**

A couple of minutes after Tony reluctantly followed Natasha out of the waiting area, the front door opened and two women stepped inside. Jethro and Shannon immediately recognized Anne Joseph. They assumed the woman who was walking beside her was Tony's Guardian Ad Litem.

"Hi Anne," Shannon said pleasantly, standing up to shake the woman's hand. She turned to the other lady. "I'm Shannon Gibbs," she introduced herself. She turned to Jethro, "and this is my husband Jethro."

The other woman smiled. She was younger than the Gibbses had expected, in her mid thirties, with long silky black hair tucked into a neat ponytail at the base of her head. She wore black dress pants, and a short sleeved sweater with a tasteful necklace. Her face was open and friendly, adorned with glasses and tiny pearl earrings in her ears. Her skin held the deep tan of someone with a Latin or South American heritage.

"Hello! My name is Maia," the woman said. She shook hands with Shannon and then Jethro. Maia looked around. "Have they already called Anthony back?"

"Tony," Jethro said quickly. "He goes by Tony. He doesn't like being called Anthony."

Maia made a note of that. "That's good to know," she said. "Thank you for telling me."

"They called him back less than five minutes ago," Shannon said, glancing at her watch.

"Oh that's too bad I missed him. I'll see him in a bit though," Maia said. She took a seat on the row across from the Gibbses, close enough to still talk, but not so close that the young parents would feel threatened by her presence. Anne sat beside her.

"How is Tony doing," Anne asked.

"He's been having some trouble," Jethro said. "Little leg's giving him a helluva time."

"Has he been back to see Dr. Trexler?"

"We just went this morning," Shannon said. "Dr. Trexler scheduled him for surgery on his leg in July."

"It isn't getting better with the brace?"

Shannon and Jethro both shook their heads sadly.

Maia was listening, but was taking notes here and there, jotting things down that she needed to remember to ask about later. The sudden sound of a child's voice echoing through the halls had everyone's attention.

"JEEEETHHHROOOO!"

Jethro was on his feet like lightning headed for the waiting room door so he could go to his boy. He turned, furious, when someone grabbed his arm to stop him.

Maia knew that sometimes these appointments could be unpleasant for children. She also knew in that situation that the child would cry out for the person they felt safest with—in Tony's case it was obviously Jethro.

"Mr. Gibbs you need to let them do their job," she said gently, refusing to let go of his arm.

Jethro looked at Maia, then looked down at his arm, then looked back up at her. "Let. Go."

"It's alright dear," Anne said. She put her hand over top of Maia's and got her to let go of Jethro's arm. He was off like a shot down the hall. Maia opened her mouth to speak and Anne gently but firmly cut her off. "It is not wise to get between a marine and something he wants to protect. Best to just get out of his way."

"But the court has ordered this interview to take place—he's going to interfere with the process, he's going to undo any progress the doctor makes—he's—"

"He's going to make sure his child is safe and alright, and once he does that he will return to the waiting room," Anne said. Her tone held a warning note to it. She had been Tony's case manager from the start of all of this—she knew how important Jethro's role in Tony's wellbeing was. She remembered the night at Stacy and Ted's house when Tony pitifully explained that he just wanted his Jethro.

Maia stopped. She hadn't really considered that. She was so focused on the interview and the justice process that she momentarily forgot that there was an innocent, vulnerable child involved in this mess who was feeling scared and wanting the comfort of the person he felt safest with. Maia nodded sheepishly. "You're right. This child was abandoned and he's feeling insecure because he's in a new place. You're right," she looked at Shannon. "Please forgive me."

"He's not just a child," Anne corrected gently. "His name is Tony, and he's six years old, and he loves to have bedtime stories read to him. He's not just a child."

Shannon stared at her for a long moment. "Please understand," she said finally, "we found Tony half starved lying in a parking lot picnic area. We brought him home and he's been ours pretty much ever since then. He just fit with our family. My husband is quite protective of both of his children, but especially Tony because he's heard stories of what Tony's been through."

Maia nodded. "I'd like to get to know all of you better. You seem like a wonderful family," she smiled.

Shannon gestured towards the seats they had vacated. She knew Jethro was handling Tony, so she would handle the social workers. Maia looked torn. "Could I go check on your husband and Tony? I won't interfere; I would just like to watch them interact a bit—get a feel for their relationship. If that's ok?"

Shannon thought for a moment then nodded. "Don't undermine him. He'll never trust you if you screw with us or with Tony."

Maia nodded. "I understand," she said. "I really do want to help you all become a family, if that is really what is best for Tony." Shannon bristled. "I'm not saying that it isn't—I'm just new to the situation and I'm feeling it all out. Please don't be angry with me," Maia pleaded. Shannon was as protective of her family as Jethro was it seemed—she just went about it differently.

Shannon nodded and Maia slipped out of the waiting room. It wasn't difficult to figure out where Mr. Gibbs and Tony were.

xxx

Tony screamed at the top of his lungs and scrambled out of the chair. He didn't dare try to leave the room for fear of what the man would do to him if he did. Oh this was horrible, the worst thing that could have ever happened!

"Easy Anthony," the psychologist was saying. His voice was still booming and loud, though he had lowered it considerably. Every time the man tried to take a step closer or speak to the terrified child, it seemed to only make things worse. Tony backed into a corner and sat tucked into it, knees pulled up tight to his chest, hands over his ears, cowering in fear.

And then suddenly everything got taken up another notch when the door behind him opened and another man burst into the room. "Tony!"

Jethro ran to his boy, scooping him in his arms and hugging him tightly. "Shhhh it's ok little one, shhhh it's alright, no one is going to hurt you." He looked up at the psychologist, really looking at him for the first time. "My God," he whispered.

"What?" Dr. Dolova asked.

"You look just like his biological father," Jethro whispered. He ran a hand over Tony's hair and hugged him a little tighter. "He's not your father Tony, it's not him. It's not him, you're safe. It's ok," he cooed softly.

The doctor had stopped trying to advance on Tony once he heard what Jethro said. "Anthony?" the doctor's voice was much softer now, much gentler. Tony buried his face tighter into Jethro's neck and whimpered, his entire body vibrating with fear.

"He prefers to go by Tony," Jethro offered softly. He knew there was no way Tony would ever open up to this man and talk to him. It was just too scary for him. He hoped they wouldn't force him.

From the doorway, Maia stood, silently watching the exchange. She watched the way Tony clung so tightly to Jethro, and the way that Jethro held him so lovingly. It was obvious that this was a position these two had held many times over. It was familiar; it was comfortable; it was safe.

She swallowed a lump in her throat. It was rare for these situations to move her to such emotion, but…there was something about this child…he was _so_ scared, so innocent…and so loved by this family…no wonder they all hated her—she'd waltzed in questioning everything and making an ass of herself. She needed to fix this. She needed to help this family. And thankfully, she was well within her rights to do so.

"Doctor? May I speak with you for a moment please?"

Natasha stepped out into the hallway with Dr. Dolova and Maia and they all left Tony and Jethro in the room by themselves.

Maia held out her hand and smiled. "My name is Maia Harwood. I am Tony's Guardian Ad Litem."

The doctor smiled and shook her hand. "Nice to meet you," he said.

"I'd like to talk to you about Tony."

"Well I haven't actually gotten to talk to him yet. In fact, as you could probably see, I barely got into the room with him."

"Yes. I did see that. It concerns me that Tony is so upset."

"His guardian, Jethro Gibbs, said that I look a great deal like the boy's birth father."

Maia looked at the doctor and recalled what Anne had said to her. "His name is Tony," she said gently. "He's not just a boy."

The doctor nodded. "Understood," he said.

"Perhaps we should step to your office and chat. If you don't mind, I'd like to call Anne Joseph back as well, she's Tony's case worker."

"Fine," the doctor agreed. "Natasha, will you go call Ms. Joseph back please?"

"Of course Doctor," Natasha said, wandering away down the hall.

Maia poked her head back into the room. "Mr. Gibbs?" Jethro looked up, confused about what she was doing. "Anne and I are going to speak with the doctor in his office. You can stay here or head back to the waiting room."

Jethro nodded, still confused by the woman's change in demeanor, but not questioning it. He pulled Tony into his lap and continued to hug him, rubbing his back gently, stroking his hair, the whole time assuring him that he was safe.

It was several minutes after everyone left them alone that Tony finally spoke. "Jethro?" His voice was barely above a whisper and was trembling badly as he spoke.

"Yeah bud?"

"Can we's please go home now?" Tony lifted his head and looked at Jethro with the saddest eyes he'd ever seen. His lower lip trembled pitifully. Tony was the picture of misery. "I's don't feel good," he whispered sadly. "I's don't wanna do this no mores. I's just wanna go a sleep."

Jethro hugged him a little tighter and rested his cheek on the top of the little boy's head. "I hope so," he said. "I hope they don't make us stay. Miss Anne and Miss Maia are talking to the doctor now."

"Who Miss Maia?"

"She's your Guardian Ad Litem. It is her job to make sure that you get exactly what you need and that you get to live with the best family for you. She will talk to the judge in court and tell them what she thinks they should decide."

Tony, sadly, knew all about the upcoming court sessions. He knew there would be a trial where the police would talk to his mean-daddy. He also knew that Jethro and Shannon had to go talk to a judge to see if they could keep Tony and see if Tony could become their real little boy, and him not be his mean-daddy's son anymore. It was sad, but Tony really didn't dare get his hopes up. His life was too good with Jethro and Shannon—he didn't think it would really last. He honestly believed someone would take him away and this time he'd never see them again.

xxx

Anne joined Maia in the doctor's office, surprised that the conversation was well underway when she got there.

"I'm not feeling like you're listening to me," Maia was saying to Dr. Dolova. "Yes, you were appointed by the court to interview Tony for the trial and the custody hearing. But the court would agree with me that we need to act in the best interest of the child. And you can't tell me honestly that after the reaction we all saw this afternoon that you would be able to get any information out of Tony—let alone any accurate information. It's ludicrous!"

"Ms. Harwood, while I understand your concern for the child, you must understand that the State of California has decided that it is my job to extract this information from this child. These types of situations are never pleasant for anyone involved, least of all me, so please do understand when I say that it pains me to see this disturbed child become so upset just by my walking in the room! Obviously there has been some ideas planted into the child's head that would make him think for some reason that I am intending to hurt him—who knows what the Gibbses have said to him about this process or about me! I think the child should be removed from the home immediately and put into another foster family's home where he will be held for the duration of the legal proceedings."

"Are you even listening to yourself," Anne jumped into the fray, her face red with anger. "Tony is not a prisoner! He is not the one at fault here! He is a child—an abused and abandoned child! He deserves, above everything else, to have stability!"

The doctor leaned forward and rested his folded hands on his desk. "I'm not convinced that the child is telling the truth," he said, his voice dangerously soft and—threatening? "I'm not convinced that his father has anything to do with any of this. I think there's a good chance that the child ran away from home—probably because he didn't get his way. And now he's been manipulating the system ever since."

"You call yourself a doctor? Really?" Maia's face was red with anger. "Have you ever worked with abused children before? Have you ever seen them? How they behave?"

"I've seen hundreds of children. Many have been abused in some variation. If the boy is having that much trouble, perhaps we can recommend the child be given some anti-psychotic medications or anti-anxiety medications to take. It might help him to…put things into perspective," the doctor said.

"This is ridiculous," Maia said. "We are wasting our time. I will contact the judge myself, and someone will be in touch with your office." She stood up and Anne followed her. "We're finished here."

xxx

Maia stopped at one of the therapy rooms. Jethro was still sitting in the small chair with Tony, who appeared to be dozing off. He looked up when she opened the door. "We're leaving," she said, trying desperately to keep the anger out of her voice. She could only imagine what Mr. Gibbs' reaction would be to what this idiot doctor had just said. She wondered if she could get the man's medical license revoked.

Jethro didn't ask questions. He could easily see how angry Maia was. He stood up and Tony whimpered when he moved. "It's ok," he whispered and Tony resettled.

The group started walking towards the door, and Tony lifted his head up when the lighting around him changed, becoming brighter. "Jethro?" He looked around, squinting in the light.

"We're heading home now Tony. Just rest," Jethro said quietly. They walked outside to the parking lot and were immediately struck with how warm the day was.

"Want me to drive," Shannon asked softly. "You can sit in the back with Tony that way."

"Thanks babe," Jethro whispered and kissed her cheek. "This was a total disaster," he muttered in her ear. She nodded. They'd discuss it further later on.

"Would it be alright with the two of you if we followed you back to your house," Anne said. "We have some things we need to discuss, and we need to make a plan. Tony looks like he's had enough for one day," she observed, smiling sadly as Gibbs gently manhandled the little boy into the car seat. Tony's head rolled back against the seat and his mouth drooped open.

"Yeah that's ok," the Gibbses agreed. "They wanted to hear what had taken place in the office with the doctor. Jethro especially was very concerned. He didn't think this would bode well for any of them.

"Did we uh," Jethro said, "did we do any damage…to our case…today?"

Anne shook her head, as did Maia. "No way," she said. "All you did today was prove what an excellent set of parents you are," she said firmly.

"I am sorry for the way we got off on the wrong foot," Maia said to Jethro who blinked in surprise. "Can we get a fresh start? Try again? A do over?"

Jethro knew she had been instrumental in rescuing them from the doctor's office here. "Sure," he said, shaking her hand on the deal.

xxx

Once they arrived back on base, Jethro helped get Maia and Anne set up with visitor passes to allow them onto the federal property. While they were doing that, Shannon went ahead to the house with Tony. She carried him over to the Tyler's house and asked if it would be alright if Kelly stayed for a bit longer as the social workers needed to talk to them. Myra agreed wholeheartedly that Kelly could stay as long as they needed her to. Shannon thanked her friend and then headed back across the yard to her own house.

Jethro was just getting out of Anne's car, along with Anne and Maia. Shannon passed Tony off to Jethro. The child wasn't asleep, but it was obvious he was completely overloaded. He stared blankly and made no noise. His little fingers on one hand were fisted into Jethro's shirt, and the other hand had the thumb firmly wedged between his lips.

"Hey buddy," Jethro said as he helped Tony settle against him.

Tony didn't respond.

"You wanna stay with me and talk to Miss Anne and Miss Maia?"

Tony shook his head slowly, then buried his head in Jethro's neck. The two social workers cooed over how sweet Tony was.

"I'm gonna give him some pain medicine for his leg," Jethro said. "It was hurting this morning before he got so stressed out…stress causes his muscles to spasm badly in his leg. He'll feel better if we let him rest a bit." He carried Tony into the kitchen while Shannon had the social workers sit in the living room.

"Could I see Tony's room before he goes up to sleep?" Maia was all smiles, admiring the way Tony did so obviously fit into their family—his photograph hung on the wall with Kelly's school pictures, a family portrait sat on the coffee table with all four of their smiling faces. Tony's artwork adorned the refrigerator, and tucked neatly under one of the lamp tables beside the couch was a very organized row of cars and trucks.

Shannon poked her head in the kitchen and saw that Jethro was still giving Tony his medicine. She nodded. "Sure, it's up this way," she said, leading the way up the stairs.

"Shannon you said that Dr. Trexler scheduled Tony's surgery for July?" Anne asked as they headed for the second floor.

"That's right," Shannon said.

"Is he going to be on crutches afterwards?"

Shannon stopped on the stairs and shook her head. "Wheelchair," she said in a low voice. "Just until the cast comes off though."

"How will he navigate the stairs," Anne asked. "That's going to be frustrating for him."

"I think Jethro and I are going to use up some of our vacation time with him. The first couple of weeks he won't be able to go to daycare, so we're going to stay home with him. Jethro's talking about building a ramp to get him in and out of the house, we've got the big SUV that will give him enough room in the back seat to have the cast, and we'll put a box or something under his leg to help support it…we're going to see if we can get his grandparents to come visit one at a time to kind of provide some distraction and support as well."

They reached Tony's room and Maia let out a breathy sigh when she saw his special space.

There was a handcrafted dresser in the room. It was a light oak color and it was adorned with colored knobs and stickers all over it. There was also tiny hand prints painted onto the wood by someone with small hands. A toybox stood along one wall. There were toys peeking out of the top of it, smiling, friendly looking stuffed animals, and more cars and trucks were lined carefully out beside it. The corner was home to a rocking chair, easily visible from the bed. A bookshelf—also handcrafted—stood near the window and was filled to bursting with storybooks. There was a large window in the room, with a heavy shade that could be pulled down. The window let in a lot of light and really set off the calm green walls and dark blue carpet. Hanging from some of the walls were huge posters of Tony's favorite superheroes—Superman, Batman and Robin, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles…a US Marine Corps poster.

Maia smiled. Her attention was drawn to the closet that had no door and she looked at Shannon with wonder. Shannon smiled. "The monsters don't like to hide in closets that have no doors," she explained softly. "Tony's 'mean-daddy' as he calls him, doesn't like to go into the closet because there is no door. He also doesn't like to go under the bed, because there is nothing closing it up either." Indeed, Tony's bed held a brightly colored plaid comforter that matched the colors in the room tastefully. There was a gap between the bottom of the mattress and the floor—you could easily see under the bed.

"When he first came to us," Shannon said, "he…he tried to sleep under the bed. His father always made him sleep under the bed because he'd wet the bed in the past…he didn't understand that this wasn't the way everyone lived. He's doing much better now though."

Maia walked to the bedside table and saw a framed photo of Tony and Jethro grinning wildly at the camera, and next to it was a simple dollar-store spray bottle filled with some sort of lightly colored liquid. She cocked her head to one side and lifted the bottle up and looked at Shannon questioningly. Shannon smiled and took the bottle, gently unscrewing the lid and sniffing it before offering it to Maia to smell as well. It smelled like peppermint.

"Monster spray," Shannon said softly. "Monsters don't like it—they run away when you spray it."

Maia smiled, her heart swelling with amazement at all of the things these people had done to make this little boy feel safe in their home. It was truly wonderful. "Of course," she said softly.

A sound behind them had them all turning around. Jethro was standing in the doorway with Tony snuggled in his arms. "Are we interrupting," he asked softly.

"No, no of course not," Maia said. She walked up to Tony who just stared at her and didn't say anything. "Shannon was showing me your very awesome room, Sweetie," she said to him. He stared at her. "I love your bedroom. Do you like it?"

Tony nodded and slipped his thumb out of his mouth. "My Jethro say that iffa court say it ok I can live here forevers," he said softly. He raised his head and looked at his room. "My room is nice," he said. "I like it."

"I can see why you like it," Maia said. "What's your favorite part of your room?"

Tony twisted in Jethro's arms a bit and Jethro set him down so he could explore to find his favorite thing. He walked around in a small circle, looking at everything in his wonderful room and his eyes settled on his bedside table. He walked slowly over to it, limping badly, and he carefully picked up the small plastic frame and stared at the picture of him and Jethro.

"This," he said softly. "This my fav'rite thing." He stared at the photo for a long moment. "Miss Maia?"

"Yes Tony?" She walked over and knelt beside him.

Tony was quiet for a long moment, and Maia considered prodding the child to see what he wanted, but something told her to wait. She could sense that this was an introspective child who would think first and then speak when he was ready.

Tony looked at this strange woman whom he barely knew, who was supposed to become his greatest ally, and two tears filled his eyes.

"Tony? Sweetheart you look so sad," Maia said.

Tony sniffled and held the picture a bit tighter. "M-Miss Maia," he said again softly. "I-if you's make me go away from my Jethro," he said softly, "c-can I takes my picture with me?"

Shannon buried her face against Jethro's shoulder, and Jethro's face hardened into a mask that was cracking faster than he could construct it. Tears filled his eyes and he looked unashamed at the other two women in the room, silently pleading for them to hear this child and do what was best for him. Anne pulled a handkerchief from her pocket and dabbed her eyes with it and Maia pulled Tony into a sudden hug.

"Tony listen to me," she said a bit desperately. "I am going to do everything I can, to make sure that you never ever have to leave your Jethro and your family. I promise I will do my best to help you stay here forever."

Tony looked at her, and then looked at Jethro and Shannon who were both smiling. Anne was smiling but still crying, and he looked back at Maia. Could he trust her? Would she really do what she said she would?

Tony took a deep breath and fixed his little face with a determined expression. "Pinky promise?" he asked, hesitantly holding out his littlest finger.

Miss Maia nodded, biting back tears of her own. She held up her own hand and linked their fingers together. "Pinky promise," she whispered.

TBC…


	19. Gathering Information 4

Warning: Language. Reference to explicit child abuse in the flashbacks.  
><em><strong>Thanks as always to my wonderful friend Gotgoats for betaing, and just for awesomeness in general. Don't know what I'd do without ya some days, Sweetie! Love ya pbbbbbbt :P<strong>_

**Daddy's Boy  
><strong>**Chapter 19: Gathering Information 4**

Tony proudly pointed out his toys to Maia and Anne. He kept them very meticulously organized, much to the amusement of the adults. It made sense to Tony though. He'd be able to know exactly what he had, if everything was in its place. Once he told the grownups this, they stopped laughing and agreed with him. They were not surprised when Tony suddenly yawned and limped slowly over to Jethro.

"Jethro," Tony said softly, pulling on his pants leg.

"Yeah bud? You ok?"

"I's sleepy," he said, and stared up at Jethro with droopy eyes.

Half of Jethro's mouth quirked up in a smile. "Wanna take a nap before dinner?"

"I's don't wanna get in trouble," he said, dropping his gaze. "I's don't wanna be taked away for being bad."

Maia raised a hand to cover her mouth. Anne silenced her with a look, her eyes saying they would explain downstairs.

Jethro silently gestured the others out of the room with his head as he scooped Tony up. "You won't get into trouble for being sleepy," he said patiently, settling down in the rocking chair with his boy in his lap. "I even gave you medicine that we all know makes you sleepy. You won't get into trouble."

Tony yawned. "Will you read a story," he asked softly.

"Sure Tony. Which story do you want?"

Tony shrugged. "I like 'em all," he murmured, his eyes drifting shut.

Jethro smiled and rocked slowly back and forth in the chair, the motion making Tony sleepier and sleepier. "Well why don't you sit here and think about which story you wanna hear ok? Let me know what you decide."

"Kay," Tony whispered. A moment later he was asleep.

xxx

Downstairs, Shannon invited everyone to sit at the dining room table and turned on the coffee pot. She pulled out a box of cookies she'd picked up at the grocery store a couple of days ago and set them in the middle of the table. She looked up in surprise when Jethro joined them before the coffee had finished brewing.

"Thought you were going to read a story," she said with a smile.

"He fell asleep trying to decide which story he wanted," Jethro said, chuckling softly. "He's such a funny kid."

Maia pulled an M&M cookie from the box and nibbled on it. "Can you tell me more about his leg and what happened to it," she asked.

Jethro's face immediately darkened, and Maia almost regretted asking. Shannon looked at her husband with concern. "Jethro? Honey?"

"I heard all about what happened to his leg," Jethro said, his voice just above a whisper.

"You did?" Shannon said, surprised. "When?"

"Last night," Jethro whispered. "After his night terror…he told me everything that happened to his leg Shannon."

Anne folded her hands on the table and leaned forward just slightly. "Do you mind telling us what he told you?" A quick glance at Maia showed the young woman preparing to take notes. They would notify the police later if need be.

_**Flashback**_

_Tony was two years old the first time his leg was broken. He'd been playing outside when it started to rain. Knowing that he wasn't supposed to track dirt and mud into the house, Tony quickly headed inside when it began to rain. He didn't realize though, that his shoes had gotten wet on his way inside. He took two steps inside his house before his father stopped him._

"_GODDAMMIT ANTHONY! I TOLD YOU NOT TO MAKE A MESS ON THE FLOOR WITH YOUR FUCKING SHOES!"_

_Tony froze and looked at the floor. He saw the small puddles made by his small feet and felt his tummy flip over._

_He stared up at his father in fear and the man seemed to grow larger as he got angrier. When Tony didn't immediately scramble to clean up the mess, Senior struck him hard in the face, knocking him to the ground. His father smiled when his son hit the floor hard and watched as tears and pain clouded the child's face._

"_Don't you cry you stupid little pup," Senior sneered at his son. When Tony didn't stop crying, Senior lifted his foot and brought it down hard on his child's lower leg, about midway up his calf. Tony squealed in pain, screaming and wailing and trying to draw his leg up to his chest…_

_By that night it was quiet obvious some severe damage had been done to the little boy's leg. His mother stared at her child in disgust when he wouldn't stop crying. He'd been crying for hours._

"_Oh for goodness sake," she grumbled. Stomping into the bathroom, she opened the medicine cabinet and pulled down a bottle. She shook out a pill and put the bottle back up. She went to the hall where her stubborn child still lay crying in the floor where his father had left him hours earlier, and she rolled him to his back._

"_Open your mouth you noisy little shit," she snapped. Tony was still crying and didn't do as she asked immediately. She grabbed his jaw and forced his mouth open. She tossed the pill in the child's mouth and then held her hand over his lips so he couldn't spit it back out. She smiled with victory when the child finally swallowed with a shudder—the pill had begun to dissolve on his tongue and tasted horrible._

"_Now you shut the hell up," she said. "You're driving me crazy!"_

_The DiNozzos' housekeeper stood in the doorway of the kitchen watching the exchange. Mrs. DiNozzo turned and looked at her with narrowed eyes. "What the hell are you looking at?"_

"_You do boy wrongly," the woman said in her broken English. She'd only been in the country a short time and was still learning the language. It was obvious, however, that these parents were not good to their child—that message was conveyed loud and clear without the use of verbal communication._

"_You want to go back to Guatemala?" _

_Nita shook her head. No she didn't want to go back. _

_Mrs. DiNozzo smiled. "Then you take his sorry ass and put him in the garage in his bed. I don't want to see or hear another peep out of either of you. If we're lucky that Percocet will kill his sorry little ass and we won't have to listen to him anymore." She glanced at her toddler who was staring at her with glazed eyes. She wondered if she'd given him enough medication to kill him this time. Without a word, she turned and walked away without a backwards glance._

_Nita moved to Tony's side once she was gone, and carefully touched Tony's leg. "Shhhhhh," she murmured when the child whimpered softly. She lifted his pants leg and could easily see the outline of the his father's boot on the child's leg. She ran her fingers lightly over his leg and could feel the shifting bone. It was broken, but felt like a clean break._

"_Come with Nita," she whispered. She hooked her hands under the child's arms and helped him to his feet. Tony began to cry and bit his lip as Nita hauled him off the ground and into her arms. She walked out to the garage with him and opened the door to the utility closet. Inside there was a small pallet made of old blankets. This was where Tony slept when he'd been bad. The child looked pitifully up at his only friend in the house—the only one who was gentle with him._

_She laid him carefully on the pallet and stroked a hand lightly over his feverish cheek. "I'm so sorry," she whispered. "Rest now. Let the medicine help you sleep, bambino."_

_Tony's eyes fluttered shut as the young woman watched over him, tears drying on both of their faces. When he woke and was let out of the closet, several days later, Nita was gone. _

_He never saw her again._

_**End Flashback**_

Shannon wiped her eyes and Jethro took a solemn sip of coffee. Anne and Maia were both pale, stricken by the horrific tale, but they knew there was more.

"The worst damage to his leg was done on his thigh—not his lower leg," Anne said. "Did he tell you about how that happened?"

Jethro nodded. He took another sip of coffee, trying to wash the lump in his throat down to no avail. He looked slightly sick and worked his fingers together nervously as he told them what Tony had said…

_**Flashback**_

_The next time the child's leg was broken, Tony was almost five years old. He'd learned his lesson about tracking water and mud in the house years earlier. He'd never seen a doctor for his hurt leg and it was months before he was allowed back outside again. Tony still missed Nita, but now they had a new housekeeper, Penelope. She didn't really seem to like Tony too much, but she wasn't mean to him. She just ignored him, like everyone else did._

_Well. Everyone else ignored him unless they wanted to hurt him. Or if he screwed up. And oh boy he screwed up on this particular day. But he still wasn't sure what, exactly, it was that he did._

_Tony walked inside after getting the mail. He took care to wipe his feet carefully on the mat and quickly removed his shoes before he tracked anything that even remotely looked like dirt or water onto the floor. It was a bright, sunshiny day outside, but he wasn't taking any chances. The child was almost obsessive about removing his shoes now the moment he came inside._

_Penelope was in the hallway, running the vacuum when Tony came back inside. She looked at him and watched with satisfaction as the child meticulously removed his shoes, opened the door and shook off any extra dirt outside. He closed the door back, set the mail on the table, and just as he turned, he watched as Penelope's elbow accidentally bumped a vase. It was the expensive one that his father had brought back from one of his many business trips._

_His eyes widened in horror when the vase tipped and Tony knew it would fall. In a desperate attempt to save it, he dove for the ground, arms outstretched, but was a moment too late, and the vase shattered on the floor. Tony blinked in shock when he realized what had happened. _

_Penelope had just broken the vase._

_The sound of the breaking glass summoned his father from his office upstairs. Tony's mother had been dead for several months now, and Senior was treating Tony worse by the day. He stomped down the stairs and Tony scrambled to his feet. Penelope's eyes were wide in fear—she knew what she'd done—knew it was an accident—knew that it wouldn't matter to Senior that it was an accident—she'd be out of a job instantly for this. Or worse, he'd have her deported._

"_What the hell happened?" Senior's eyes were wide in shock at his beloved broken bauble. He raised his gaze to look first at Tony, then at Penelope, then back to Tony._

"_Tony broke the vase," Penelope suddenly blurted. "He came into the house and was running, and knocked the vase off the table."_

_Tony's eyes widened in disbelief. He'd tried to save the vase! He hadn't been running! He'd been being careful not to run! Penelope knew that! Why was she lying? His father's expression darkened, and Tony took a step backwards, the expression on his face a mixture of hurt and confusion. His father reached out with lightning fast reflexes and grabbed Tony's arm, jerking him so hard his shoulder popped._

_Tony gasped in pain and looked at the way his arm was suddenly hanging funny. His father had dislocated his shoulder. It wasn't the first time, but it hurt so badly when he did it. Tony closed his eyes and tried not to throw up as his father dragged him back up the steps without a word. As they reached the top of the steps, he glanced back down and saw Penelope staring at him, a satisfied smile on her face. She was safe._

_Tony on the other hand…_

_His father slung him into his office and he hit the floor hard. Senior slammed the door shut and then moved to stand over Tony. Tony had learned from experience that he fared much better if he didn't move or make any noise, so he remained on the floor where he'd landed when his father slung him, and didn't make a sound._

"_You broke my vase," Senior said. It sounded like he was asking a question, but Tony knew better, so he didn't say anything. Tony knew that he could say Penelope broke the vase, but his father wouldn't believe him and he'd be beaten twice as hard for breaking the vase and then telling a lie about it. But perhaps…perhaps Tony had somehow caused it to break. It had bounced off the tips of his fingers when he was trying to catch it. Perhaps that was the reason why it broke. Perhaps Penelope was watching him instead of where she was going and he distracted her…Tony began to dream up reasons why breaking the vase could be his fault._

"_How did you break my vase, Anthony?" His father was pacing around the room, and he was using his "teaching voice" to talk to Tony. Tony gulped. He'd get hurt today. He always got hurt when his father sounded like that._

"_Um," Tony said softly. "I-I's m-made n-noise a-and 'Nelope w-was l-lookin' a'me a-and n-not atta t-table w-where t-the v-vase go," he explained softly, using the only possible explanation he could think of. "Sh-she assadentally b-bumped th't-table a-and i-it f-falled down. I-I's t-tried a c-caught it." He was so ashamed that he didn't catch the vase. If he'd only caught the vase maybe this wouldn't be happening. Oh he shouldn't have distracted Penelope that way. It was all his fault. He looked up at his father. "I's sorry," he whispered._

_Now, Senior was no fool. He'd known instantly that Tony either hadn't broken the vase or hadn't acted alone. Penelope was involved in this somehow. Listening to Tony talk, he realized that his son, in fact, had not broken the vase, but was admitting to being distracting. That was good enough for him._

"_You know you broke something very valuable to me, Anthony," his father said and Tony flinched at the words. He nodded sadly. His father stroked his chin thoughtfully. "So perhaps I should break something that is very valuable to you as punishment. What do you think?"_

_Tony looked up at his father curiously, wondering what he could possibly have that his father would want to break. "Y-yessir," Tony whispered._

_Senior smiled. He crossed the room and lightly fingered his golf bag. Tony remained on the floor where his father had thrown him. He would stay there until his father told him to move. The child watched in horror as his father pulled out one of his big golf clubs. He held it in one hand and hit his other hand with it menacingly. He wondered what his father was going to do._

"_Now Anthony," his father said. "You agreed that I should break something of yours, so I don't want to hear any whining or crying over it, do you understand me?"_

_Tony looked fearfully up at his father and nodded. _

_His father smiled. It was an evil smile. "When we're finished you're going to go to the garage and stay there until I come get you. Understand?" Tony nodded._

"_Stand up."_

_Tony reluctantly rose to his feet. His shoulder still hurt horribly where his father had jerked it out of place a few minutes earlier. He knew how to pop it back in though, so he'd do that once he got to the garage._

_He was so caught up in his thoughts that he was not prepared for the blow that hit his thigh, just above the knee, with the five iron. He blinked in shock and gasped in pain, earning him another blow to the leg in the same spot as the first. It felt like the bone in Tony's leg was crumbling and the child bit his lip trying not to scream out in pain. The blow fell again and again, hitting his thigh, breaking his femur, and another blow landed near the spot where he'd had his leg broken before and broke it again. _

_Tony realized that his father was breaking the thing that was most valuable to Tony—his leg. Without his leg, he couldn't run away. He crumbled to the floor and looked up at the man holding the golf club that was shiny in the light. The blow fell again and again until Tony blacked out._

_When Tony woke, he was in the garage, in his little room. He was tied to one of the water pipes that ran along the wall, so he couldn't move around too much or make too much noise. His leg was horribly swollen and burned and fizzed, and Tony knew it would never be the same. He wondered if he would ever be able to walk again. He wondered if he would go to heaven like Mama did. He wondered if there was anyone in the world who would ever be nice to him._

_**End Flashback**_

"The night we met him, I only noticed him because he fell over," Jethro said softly. "When I asked him what happened to his leg he told me that he'd fallen and hurt it. Last night he was afraid I would be angry with him because he lied to me that night. When I assured him I would not be angry about it, he told me what really happened."

Tears filled Jethro's eyes and he ran an angry hand over his face. "I have a request," he said, his voice suddenly made of steel. Anne and Maia looked up at him. "I don't know what the outcome here will be," he said, "but I would like you both to give me your word that this little boy will not go back to his father. Even if you decide he can't stay with us, please…" his voice cracked. "Please don't send him back there." He leaned back in his chair and put his face in his hands, his shoulders shaking. "I'm sorry," he whispered, trying to regain control of his emotions. "I'm sorry. It's just so hard knowing there's a chance the bastard will get Tony back again," he said, his voice wobbling.

Anne reached out and touched Jethro's arm comfortingly. "I think we all know he won't be going back to his father's house," she said. "And I am very confident that Tony will be adopted very soon by this family who loves him so much," she reassured, giving Jethro's arm a gentle pat. "This is very difficult right now—on all of us. But it's important that we gather this information—because this information will be the key to not only putting his father behind bars for the foreseeable future, but also to you being able to adopt him."

Shannon leaned over and hugged her husband who clung desperately to her. "I just want him to be happy," Jethro whispered. "I don't want him to hurt anymore; I don't want him to be scared anymore. I just want him to be able to live like a normal kid—a kid who can play and run and break things and not be afraid for his life."

"You're giving him all of those things Jethro," Maia said with a gentle smile. "You're giving him that. And that is exactly what Tony needs." She looked at Anne. "I'm going to call the judge, and I'm going to petition the court for a new child psychologist. I don't want a repeat of what happened today, but we need to get this interview with Tony completed. It is essential to the hearing."

Jethro and Shannon nodded. A scream sounded from upstairs and Jethro was on his feet and out of the room before Maia and Anne had processed what the sound was. In the backyard, Sasha heard the scream and let out a low whine. Her boy needed her! Shannon stepped to the backdoor and let Sasha in. She didn't even pause at the two strangers in her kitchen—she just hightailed it up the stairs to her Tony.

"That's Sasha," Shannon told Anne and Maia. He was a gift to Tony for his birthday. She smiled. "Every kid needs a dog."

"You and Jethro are such good parents," Anne said. "You're really doing a terrific job with him."

Maia nodded. "I'm sure he's made lots of progress, hasn't he?"

Shannon nodded. "Tons. We're so proud of him." The three women headed up the stairs together to check on Tony.

xxx

Jethro raced into Tony's room, Sasha on his heels. Tony was curled on his side, his arms covering his head and his legs tucked close to his chest. He was whimpering now, his forehead streaked with sweat and his little eyebrows knit closely together. His entire body was shuddering.

"Ok Tony, hey Tony, I'm here, Daddy's here, it's ok, it's ok shhhh…" Jethro sat on the edge of the bed and glanced over his shoulder to see if he was being watched. He gently scooped the little boy up and moved to the rocking chair. He started to rock and continued to murmur softly in Tony's ear. Tony blinked his eyes open with a shriek. His eyes were filled with terror and he was breathing harshly.

"Tony? You with me?"

"I-I h-hadda s-scarrrrry ni'mare," Tony whispered, swallowing hard, still breathing in raspy pants.

Jethro rubbed his back gently. "Ok it's ok, was only a dream," he said quietly.

Tony shuddered in his lap. "N-nooo I a membered something," he said.

Anne and Maia sat on the bed. Shannon dropped to her knees in front of Tony and Jethro on the floor. "What did you remember, Sweet Boy," she asked softly.

Tony sniffed and two fat tears rolled down his cheek. "I a-a membered the d-day m-my mean d-daddy t-told me a go aways," he said softly.

"You can tell us baby," Jethro whispered in his ear. "Talk to us."

Surrounded by people who were advocating for the child to have the best life he could possibly have, Tony quietly told the story of what happened to him the night his father abandoned him.

_**Flashback**_

"_Junior!" his father's booming voice echoed through the house. _

_Tony had been coloring with his markers that Jorge had gotten him and looked down at his hands. There was purple ink all over his hands from using the marker. He quickly gathered his paper and stacked it neatly and put it on the bed._

"_I expect you to fucking come when I goddamn call you, you little bastard," his father snarled._

_Tony flinched and hurried to go meet his father. He moved much slower these days because of his leg. It didn't get straight anymore—his leg was always bent now, and at an odd angle. And it always, always hurt._

"_I's here," Tony said breathlessly, tired after moving as quickly as he could to his father._

_His father grabbed him by the arm and picked up his car keys. He dragged Tony out of the house and quite literally slung him into the front seat of the car. "Don't you make a sound," his father said threateningly. "If you so much as peep I will throw you off the bridge."_

_Tony nodded, his eyes round with fear. He had no doubt that his father would do exactly as he said if he spoke. They drove and drove. It was a rainy day, but off in the distance the yellow sky from the sun could still be seen. Fascinated by watching the rain, he was lulled to sleep by the motion of the car._

_He awoke suddenly, being shaken by his father's large hand. Tony sat up and looked around, rubbing his eyes sleepily._

"_Here we are," his father said, with a satisfied smirk._

_Tony, remembering that his father told him not to speak, kept quiet, but looked around curiously. They were in a large parking lot. It was empty—there were no other cars around. _

"_Get out of the car Junior," his father said. Both of them climbed out of the car._

_**End Flashback**_

"My leg a hurting," Tony said softly. "But I's was quiet, a cause m-my mean-d-daddy s-say he gonna thwow me offa bridge."

Tony looked sadly down at his leg.

"What happened next Tony," Jethro prompted gently. "You're doing so good—being so brave. Tell us what happened."

Tony sniffled and wiped his face on the back of his arm. Then his eyes widened when he realized what he did and he looked at Shannon in horror. "I's sorry," he whispered. "I's forgot."

"It's alright Tony," Shannon said softly. "We'll wash your arm good in the bathtub tonight, alright? Can you finish telling us your story?"

Tony nodded. "M-my m-mean-daddy grabbed-ded my arm an' he pulled me 'ways from a car. 'You's a sniveling little shit Tony,'" he mimicked his father haughtily. "He's throwed me onna ground…'I's hope I's never see you's again. You's makes me sick. You's a waste. You's worthless. I's wished I's never had a kid. I's wished you's was dead,' Tony said, still mimicking his father.

He blinked and looked up at Jethro. "Then he's gotsed back inna his car and dwove away and leaved me there. I's was all by myself Jethro!" He looked up at Jethro and tears rolled down his cheeks. "I's hadda sleep outside…I's was cold…my leg hurted…a-and i-it got dark," Tony whispered. "I's scared-ded," Tony's voice cracked a bit and several more tears rolled down his cheeks. "I's heared-ded a doggie b-barking," he continued. "I-I's scared-ded a doggie gonna eat me." He sobbed once. "I's s-s-scarrreed-ded," he whimpered brokenly, crying pitifully into his hands.

Jethro hugged his child close, tears of his own rolling down his face. He looked at the others and saw that they were all crying as well.

A few moments later, Maia managed to compose herself. She took a deep breath and knew what needed to be done. "Tony? Honey can you tell a police officer about what happened that day," Maia asked gently.

Tony thought about it for a minute. Then he nodded slowly. "Kay," he whispered.

Maia nodded and turned to Anne. "Get Officer Mick Powers on the phone. We need him down here to talk to Tony right away." She looked back at Jethro and Shannon and smiled sadly. "We've got him now. We've got him."

TBC…


	20. Gathering Information 5

**Author's Note: **Happy New Year everyone!  
><em><strong>Thanks as always to my wonderful beta reader and friend, GotGoats. I absolutely positively could not write this story without your help. You rock sista!<strong>_  
><strong>Warning: <strong>There is a lot of…bad stuff in this chapter. Some violence, some greed, some angst, lots of child abuse and neglect. We're going to go play inside Senior's head. Hold onto your hats folks. It's a rough ride.

**Daddy's Boy  
>Chapter 20—Gathering Information 5<strong>

After speaking with Mick Powers, Anne learned that he wanted to interview Tony with the District Attorney on the case present. Because the Gibbses lived over an hour away from LA and because it was already dinner time and Tony was already exhausted from his traumatic day, everyone agreed that it would be wiser to meet the following morning to have Tony tell his tale to the law enforcement officers. As they were gathering their things to leave that evening, Anne stepped close to Jethro. Tony was sitting in Shannon's lap and they were looking at a book together.

"Jethro, give him the extra medicine the doctor said he could have tonight. The poor little thing is exhausted—the medicine would guarantee that he'll get some sleep."

Jethro shook his head. "We only give it to him if he's hurting. It's habit forming and we don't want him to become addicted to it—but it also causes him to sleep so soundly that if he has a night terror he is unable to rouse himself from it with the medication forcing him to sleep so deeply. I understand your concern Anne, and I appreciate it, but I have to disagree with you about this. We'll give him the medicine if he needs it—we watch him very closely. We know when he's in pain."

Anne looked at him for a long moment. Finally she smiled. "Jethro I commend you for your diligent care of Little Tony. He's certainly thriving under your and Shannon's care. Forgive me for making you think I doubt you."

"No worries," Jethro said softly. "I guess after everything…I'm a little defensive. We really are trying to do our best by him."

"And you are doing a great job with him—better than his father ever did," Anne said. "He's quite comfortable with both you and Shannon, well adjusted, well fed, happy…he's an entirely different child than I met last fall."

"Thanks," Jethro said softly. "So…tomorrow?"

"Yes. We'll be here around 9am."

"I have to work in the morning, but Shannon will be here with Tony. Unless you need me here?"

"If we need to speak with you, may we come find you on duty?"

Jethro nodded. "Shannon will know where I am. If my day changes I will let her know so she can get you to the right place."

"Fantastic."

"How um…how soon do you think the trial will start?" Jethro kept his voice low now. He didn't want Tony to overhear and become upset. Tony knew they were going to have to go to court if he was to be adopted, but he had no idea that "mean-daddy" was going on trial for what he'd done to Tony. He didn't really understand all the sudden appointments and Jethro and Shannon were reluctant to tell him, concerned that Tony would suddenly quit talking about the things he'd seen and heard…things that were vital to the outcome of the trial. They knew Tony was afraid of getting into trouble, and more afraid of what his father would do to him if he got into trouble because of Tony.

"The trial is scheduled to start on May 18," Maia said softly.

Jethro nodded. "And when that happens will he need to…?"

"No. There is no reason we can think of that Tony would need to go…unless of course the judge wants to personally interview Tony. That happens sometimes. We would meet in Judge's Chambers and he would speak with Tony, probably before he makes his final ruling."

"But I thought he wouldn't have to testify…"

"Oh he won't take the stand, if that is what you mean. We are going to petition the court this evening for the appointment of a different child psychologist to interview Tony. That information will be used in place of a testimony on the stand. We will have to gather that information from Tony before the trial or else it won't be admissible in court."

Jethro nodded. "Make it happen," he said.

Maia and Anne nodded. "We will be here tomorrow. It's nothing to worry about—it's all very routine; it's to help you and Tony. It's not because anybody's done anything wrong."

"We'll keep that in mind," Jethro said dryly. They bid the social workers farewell and Jethro shut the door behind them. He turned to look at Shannon and let out a long sigh. She nodded in agreement.

It was going to be a long night.

xxx

Anthony DiNozzo Senior paced the length of his cell. His hands were clasped firmly behind his back, and each step he took was deliberate and precise. He was deep in thought and unable to sleep. Glancing up as he paced, he could see the tiny barred window at the end of the hall. Still dark outside. He should be sleeping. He'd received word several days ago that his lawyer had sold him out to the FBI. His assets had been frozen. He couldn't pay for another lawyer without his money! Aaron…his dear friend…seems as though he'd gotten himself into some trouble too…and had sold Senior out to cut a deal with the Feds.

Senior stopped pacing and leaned against the bars of his cage. He slipped his arms through the bars and bowed his head low. He'd been assigned a public defender. Some measly little yuppie wannabe lawyer. He'd met her briefly, and she'd not impressed him in the slightest. She looked like one of the girls from the clubs that he'd frequented, like one of the girls he'd have wanted to have a taste of, but never pursue a relationship with.

Well. He'd have a relationship with this woman, it seemed. But not the type he typically enjoyed.

He resumed pacing again, wondering where his life had gotten so fucked up. It wasn't hard to figure out…

_**Flashback:**_

"_Anthony," Sophia's voice lilted cautiously through the house._

_The DiNozzos were a lovely couple, smart and sophisticated, well respected in the business community. They'd been married for four years, had dated for two years before that. Anthony adored his trophy wife. She was fresh faced and beautiful—her skin was flawless, her hair was always carefully quaffed and her makeup was impeccable. She wore clothes that were tasteful but showed off her lovely figure._

_He came out of his office to greet his wife. "Hello my darling," he said, kissing her gently._

_She pulled back and Anthony could see her eyes were filled with fear, anxiety, and anger. "Sophie? What is it? What's wrong?"_

_Her lips were set in a firm line. "I just came from my doctor appointment," she said softly._

_Now a feeling of fear began to rise in Anthony's gut. "I trust everything was alright?"_

_Sophia stared at him. "Mostly." Her voice was cold. "There is…one problem."_

"_What? What is it? Whatever it is we'll fix it!"_

"_I'm pregnant," she said softly._

_Senior blinked. "Pregnant? With a baby?"_

"_No you idiot—with a monkey. YES with a baby!" She clutched at her stomach. "How could you do this to me?"_

_**End Flashback**_

He paced around the cell another lap. Everything had gone to hell in that instant. They'd never used protection, but they'd been told she was unable to have children—which was fine by both of them. When the news had come that a baby was on the way, both of their lives had come to a screaming halt. Senior had immediately begun considering how expensive a baby was.

Sophia had been worried about what the baby would do to her image. She'd seen enough of her friends have children to know that their bodies were never the same—their weight changed, their breasts changed, their hair changed, they looked tired and haggard, they wore clothes that were occasionally stained, they drove minivans instead of sexy sports cars, and everywhere they went, they were accompanied by screaming, whining, crying children who broke things, threw tantrums, ran around like they were insane…

"Why the hell would people _choose_ to have children?" she would rant and rave, pacing around the room, fuming and staring scornfully at her growing stomach. It was along about this time that Anthony had began to seek out the attentions of other women—younger and firmer bodied, and he was always much more careful with condoms and birth control than he'd ever been before.

But Senior only _thought_ that his world had changed when they found out his darling Sophie was pregnant…they had no idea what was in store for them once the baby actually _came._

_**Flashback**_

_Despite the advice she received from everyone around her, Sophia refused to see a doctor about her "problem." She refused to hear the heartbeat, she refused the blood tests, and the ultrasounds. She refused to inflict restrictions on herself simply because "it could be dangerous to the baby." She didn't honestly care if it survived or not._

_She continued to go to the gym, went running, lifted weights, did everything as she'd done before. She went shopping, had suits tailor made to conceal her changing body as much as possible. She wore dark colors and vertical lines to cover her changing figure. Pant suits became more fashionable for her when he ankles started to swell. She refused to eat the foods her body craved, telling everyone that she refused to spoil her baby by feeding it whatever it wanted. She would eat what she damn well pleased and she dared the selfish little shit to tell her differently._

_But despite her efforts, the baby inside her continued to grow. It woke her one night with a gentle flutter turning to a kick and she'd screamed at it to leave her alone, hold still, and had poked her stomach hard. Anthony was gone again this night, out doing whatever it was he did with whoever it was. She had a sneaking suspicion that he had a girlfriend on the side, and silently mourned. No man would ever look at her in the same way again. No one would ever desire her again, her body would be damaged beyond repair, and she would be alone._

_Sophia didn't talk about her pregnancy. She didn't complain about her back hurting, her ankles swelling. She threw up when she felt nauseous, and took pills when she had heartburn. She refused to take naps, and continued to go to work—even when they begged her to go out on maternity leave. She exercised almost obsessively, and had cocktails every night._

_They didn't design a nursery together. There was no remodeling done, no painting, no stencils. Curtains were not purchased and neither were toys. The DiNozzos did purchase a crib, but it was a small, cheap construction, found at a flea market they'd attended hidden behind high collared jackets and sunglasses. It wouldn't do for anyone to recognize them, and they refused to spend that much money on a bed for the baby._

_Finally one evening the DiNozzos were attending a dinner party and Sophia was feeling particularly uncomfortable. Her friends were all suspicious of her being pregnant, but she hadn't mentioned it. There had been no baby showers, no squealing over the sex of the child, nothing. As the evening progressed, she began to feel increasingly uncomfortable and eventually excused herself from the table. _

_Anthony smiled uneasily at his friends when his wife didn't immediately return. After a few more minutes, he began to get concerned. Was she alright? Was the baby ok? He gulped, was the baby coming? _

"_I wonder where Sophia went," he said, glancing around the room. The others shrugged and were unsure. When several more minutes passed and Sophia still didn't return, Anthony politely excused himself. He gasped when he found his wife on her knees on the floor, arms wrapped around her middle. He helped her to her feet and they quickly gathered their things. No mention was made about her going into labor, the DiNozzos saying only that Sophia was feeling unwell and they were going home._

_Four hours later, in her own bed, under the care of a midwife being paid to remain silent, Sophia DiNozzo gave birth to a beautiful baby boy. He was small, weighing only 5 lb 9 oz, but he was healthy, with good coloring and powerful little lungs._

_Sophia named her baby Anthony, after his father. In the hallway, Senior secretly smiled. He had an heir._

_**End Flashback**_

Senior sat down on the bed in his cell and put his head in his hands. Just six years ago he'd been a successful advertising executive for a premiere marketing agency. Now…now he was sitting in a cell, awaiting trial for charges of child abuse…child endangerment…murder…he shuddered. Things were all messed up. His beloved Sophia was dead…and she was dead because of him…and Anthony…Anthony was gone too…

_**Flashback**_

_The DiNozzos did not tell anyone about their baby. Sophia had a tight, firm body before she'd gotten pregnant, and her constant exercise during her pregnancy had guaranteed that the baby remained safely tucked behind a layer of muscle where he was barely noticed. Her figure had not changed all that much when she'd gotten pregnant. When she'd started to gain weight she'd simply switched to salads and skipping meals. When friends began to call after the dinner party, inquiring about Sophia's condition, they told her that she had caught a stomach flu, and she would be alright in a few days. They'd hired a housekeeper, Nita, to help take care of the house and the baby. There would be no discussion of the baby. No fussing over him. No the celebration Sophia had was that she was able to fit back into her size 4 clothes as soon as she had delivered the baby._

_When Tony was several weeks old, he began to cry. And not just occasionally cry. He cried almost constantly. Nita had raised her younger brothers and sisters back in Guatemala…she recognized the colic when she saw it. _

"_I don't care what you do with him. I don't care what you give him. MAKE. HIM. STOP. CRYING," Sophia said to Nita. Anthony nodded his agreement. The child could not cry in this way. He was sure to be noticed by the neighbors if this continued. He hired a contractor to come in, and the contractor build a "storage room" in the garage. He made sure the walls were very insulated and, under instruction from the DiNozzos, installed soundproofing tiles. The contractor warned against this—if someone accidentally got locked into this room, no one would be able to hear their screams to be let out._

_The DiNozzos thanked the contractor for his concern, and assured him they'd make sure they didn't find themselves locked in the room. Relieved, the contractor accepted his cash payment, and left._

_That evening, Tony's crib was moved to the room in the garage. It seemed the DiNozzos had built their son a nursery after all._

_Senior came home from work one day and found Nita holding Tony while she prepared dinner. When he asked her about it, Nita hesitatingly said that she didn't like leaving the baby locked in the garage. When they went away to work in the mornings, she would take him out of his room and keep "Little Tony" with her all day. Senior told Nita he didn't mind if she got him out and played with him during the day, as long as she made sure to put the baby to bed before she left. _

_Nita could see the obvious difference in the child's demeanor when he was with Nita and when he was left with his parents. It wasn't long before the baby became withdrawn and despondent. He was quiet and didn't bother crying, and as a result would often be forgotten—his diaper would be soiled, he would be hungry, he would be lonely, but still he did not cry. _

_There was no point._

_**End Flashback**_

All night long, Senior paced the cell. He had a preliminary hearing the next morning, in which it would be decided if he was eligible for bail with these new charges. Senior hoped that he'd be deemed eligible for bail…and he hoped he'd be able to somehow scrape together the money to post bail if he were. He watched as the sun rose and the little window at the end of his cell block brightened into daylight. Senior wondered what the day would bring. He wondered if he would be free by tonight, wondered if he would ever be free again.

He wished Tony had never been born. The little bastard had truly ruined his life. Everything was perfect until he came along. The child just would not listen though, he could not comprehend that if he'd just not screw up, if he'd listen, if he'd do as he was told…none of this would have ever happened…

_**Flashback**_

_When Senior stomped on Tony's leg and broke it for the first time, he'd gone straight upstairs, locked himself in the bathroom and vomited. He'd felt the child's bone snap beneath his foot. He knew he was responsible for the child screaming as he did. Knew he'd truly hurt him._

_He'd stayed upstairs for the rest of the evening, coming down for dinner, and nearly choking on his food as he listened to his child whine and cry in the hallway. Little Tony hadn't moved since his father had stomped his leg. Once dinner was over, Sophia had gone for her bottle of pain pills and had forced something down Tony's throat. Senior breathed a sigh of relief when the whimpering finally stopped. Perhaps he'd be able to get some sleep after all._

_Sophia had stomped into the room grumbling about the housekeeper—she'd told her that they weren't good parents! She was making plans to have Nita deported before she could report them to Social Services. They'd reported Tony's birth and had a birth certificate made, for the sole purpose of the tax breaks that parents received for their children. The downside of that was there was a record of the child's life—if something…unfortunate happened to him, it would raise a lot of questions._

_Sophia kept Little Tony in the closet until after Nita had been deported and was gone. She was sure he would have caused a scene. It was Senior who opened the door to the tiny room in the garage. The child was groggy and in shock. His little leg was hanging at an odd angle. Senior took him upstairs and cleaned him up, trying not to vomit when he realized the child had soiled himself, and wrapped him in a warm blanket and tucked him into the small bed in the extra bedroom upstairs. He walked to his basement and found an old board._

_Bringing the board back to the bedroom, the small boy flinched and whimpered when he saw what his father was carrying. Thinking he would be beaten with the board, he weakly tried to untangle himself from the blanket and move away. His father stopped him and set the board on the bed. _

"_Listen to me," he said firmly, giving the child a shake to get him to focus. _

_Tony froze in fear and stared at his father. "I am going to fix your leg," he said. "But you cannot scream and you cannot cry. I will put you back in the garage if you start making noise."_

_Tony nodded shakily and bit his little lip when his father began moving his leg around. He whimpered softly when his father pulled his leg a bit straighter and his father slapped him on the mouth. "Not a fucking sound," he snapped. He wrapped an ace bandage tightly around Tony's leg, holding it straight and the child began to cry silently—huge tears of pain ran down his cheeks. Once Senior was finished, he walked out of the room. Tony laid on the bed, and tried not to cry out in pain._

_A moment later his father was back, carrying a small glass. He helped Tony sit up slowly and the child grimaced when his leg moved._

"_Sit up," he said. He held up the glass of brown liquid. "Now this," he said to his son, "is a very special drink. It makes me feel better. It will help you relax so you can go to sleep. But don't tell anyone I shared with you ok? This is my special medicine."_

_Tony nodded and accepted the cup. He took a sip and shuddered. It burned horribly! He raised wide eyes at his father and shook his head pitifully. _

_Senior grabbed Tony by the back of the head and pushed the cup to his lips. "Drink. It," he growled._

_Tony raised the glass to his lips and drank again, more this time. He felt hot all over and the medicine burned as he swallowed it. He began to feel dizzy, and everything looked a bit fuzzy. He stared up at his father as the man helped him drink more._

"_There we go," Senior said. "That's better isn't it?" He pushed Tony to lay back in the bed. Tony fell asleep almost instantly._

_The next morning Tony woke up to find his leg was aching horribly, but now his stomach felt all twisty too, and his head was hurting. The next few days he was allowed to stay in the extra bedroom. He was not to get out of bed, not to move, not to cry, not to talk unless spoken to…_

_And it was weeks before he was spoken to again._

_**End Flashback**_

Senior turned his nose up at his breakfast tray. Dried out oatmeal, half an apple, more of the damn cheese slices. Some watered down orange juice. He shuddered, remembering wonderful meals at his home. He recalled the way his marriage began to fall apart…the way the slow decline became a deep drop off…

_**Flashback**_

_There were problems developing in the DiNozzo home. Severe problems. Sophia had long since figured out that Anthony was having relationships on the side with younger, prettier women than she. Anthony had recently discovered that Sophia was pricing attorneys. Everything seemed about to fall apart, and that was unacceptable to Anthony. He decided to take his family on a vacation. They would visit the shore, stay at a resort, relax, enjoy themselves._

_Tony had fallen asleep under the bed—where he was expected to sleep. The DiNozzos bought dog training pads and put them under the bed so Tony wouldn't soil the floor as he slept. He'd proven himself completely incompetent on not wetting the bed. Tony's parents had gone out for dinner while Tony slept, and after several drinks realized they maybe shouldn't have left their child alone. It pissed Senior off that he had to cut off his fun to go check on his child, and mixed with anger, Anthony's anger became explosive. Sophia always got so silly when she drank. Indeed she was less abusive drunk than she ever was sober._

_Senior was relieved when they entered to see that Tony had not destroyed the room, but he was still furious. He wished they'd never had a child! He didn't want to deal with the little bastard anymore! He was a pain in the ass! And he was never where he was supposed to be! _

_Not thinking or realizing what he was doing, he picked the child up and yelled in his face, and then dragged the little boy out onto the porch. He picked him up by his shirt and pants and dangled him over the rails. He remembered the way the child grasped at the railing, trying to avoid being put over, trying to avoid being dropped._

_He remembered the sheer terror on his only child's face._

"_Anthony what are you doing?" His wife was standing in the doorway, hands on her hips, yelling at him. He dragged Anthony back over the rail and accidentally smacked his boy's head on the rail as he brought him back over. Disgusted with himself—realizing what he was about to do—he dropped the child to the ground, watching his eyes flutter shut._

"_If you're going to kill him you can't make it so obvious," she snapped at him. She grabbed Tony by the shirt and dragged him back into the hotel room._

"_I don't know why I was even going to do that," Senior said, closing the door to the patio. _

"_Because he's worthless. Honest to God I've thought about killing him myself. Drowning him in the bathtub or something would work. We have to make it look like an accident if we're going to do it," she said._

"_No," Anthony said, "no I don't think we need to kill him."_

_When they got home from their trip and got settled, Sophia began to ask questions. Lots of questions. About everything. Where money was spent. Where lunch was eaten. Who lunch was eaten with. Why Senior worked late. Who he worked late with. Who he played golf with. And on and on and on…and it didn't take him long to grow very tired of the constant interrogation._

_Soon after the family vacation, Anthony was in his office on the phone. He was speaking with MaryAnn, his current bit on the side. He was furious that she'd called him at home—what if Sophia heard? He was trying to get her off the phone (and keep the relationship intact) when he heard the sound of a phone receiver picking up. He immediately stopped talking, but unfortunately MaryAnne didn't notice and continued talking._

"_But Tooooooony," she whined, "I really want to see you! I miss your body, and I miss touching you and hearing you talk so dirty in my e—"_

_Anthony hung up the phone before the woman could say any more. He turned back to his desk, working on the project he'd been concentrating on before the call had come in. It was only a moment later when his office door swung open and in the doorway stood Sophia, looking angrier than he'd ever seen her. _

"_Who the hell was on the phone Anthony?"_

"_It was uh…just a um…a client," he said uneasily._

"_A client. Is that a fact," she said haughtily._

_Before Anthony could answer, the phone rang again. He looked at Sophia evenly, hoping to God that it was not MaryAnn calling back._

"_Anthony DiNozzo," he said pleasantly into the phone. He listened for a minute, his horror growing as his lawyer, Aaron, explained what was happening. He was under investigation by the FBI…his finances were being investigated carefully, and it was expected that he would give the law enforcement officers his full cooperation._

_After he'd gotten off the phone, an argument erupted. Before Anthony even realized what happened, they were screaming at each other, yelling and slamming things. He struck Sophia in the face, something he had never done before. They broke a vase. At some point Little Tony came waddling in, walking funny as he always did now, and the argument escalated. He wasn't even thinking when he picked up the fire poker._

"_Mama?" Little Tony's voice wavered slightly with unease when he spoke._

"_Tony you need to go to your room," his mother told him._

"_You little bastard why are you in here? WHAT DO YOU WANT!" Tony flinched Anthony's angry words. He was holding a fire poker and there was some broken glass on the floor._

"_I-I's sorry," Tony whispered. "Mama was screamin', an' I's thinking she's was hurted."_

"_Oh are you her protector now? Her guardian?" Anthony sneered at him._

_Anthony's anger turned on his son and Sophia DiNozzo's eyes widened in panic. She had never seen her husband so angry. "No, no Anthony don't. This isn't about him. This is between you and me. GODDAMMIT TONY GO TO YOUR ROOM!" Her words were slurred slightly from the busted, swollen lip she had._

_Anthony shrugged the woman off when she grabbed his arm. "Let go of me," he growled. He advanced on Tony and Tony was frozen in fear, unable to move, not knowing what to do. His father grinned, showing all of his teeth and Tony's eyes widened when he raised the fire poker at him. _

_The father didn't think he actually intended to kill his son…he just…he would not tolerate being questioned, he would not tolerate being doubted, he would not tolerate his world being altered, changed, and taken away from him. Anthony DiNozzo was filled with fear and desperation. And people who are filled with fear and desperation in the way that Anthony DiNozzo was, do irrational things. _

_Sophia inserted herself between the father and the son. She didn't particularly care if the child lived or died, but she refused to have her name—her good name—dragged through the mud, dragged through the news and the tabloids. Her eyes widened when she realized that her husband, her beloved wonderful husband, whom she adored, was going to hit her with the poker._

_Anthony DiNozzo saw his world crumbling around him. And at the center of the cause was his wife. She was the one who had gotten pregnant. She was the one who got rid of Nita—his favorite bit on the side. She was the one who interrogated him about every aspect of every moment of every day. She was the one who listened in on his phone conversation. And she was the one who saved the child's life every time he wanted him to die._

_She would pay for her crimes._

_**End Flashback**_

The lock rattled and the bars slid away. Chuck, the guard on duty, smiled at him. Tobacco juice dripped from his teeth.

"Let's go DiNozzo," he sneered at his prisoner. "It's time for you to go see the judge."

TBC…


	21. Evidence

**_Thanks to my wonderful beta and friend Gotgoats for all your help with this chapter.  
><em>Warning: ** This chapter is a bit lighter, but...ah who am I kidding? Angst ahead. Mentions of abuse.

**Daddy's Boy  
><strong>**Chapter 21: Evidence**

Once everyone left, Jethro walked next door to get Kelly, and when they returned, Tony had slid off of Shannon's lap and gotten out the Hi Ho Cherry-O game. They were on the floor setting it up and Jethro smiled at them.

"Whatcha doin?"

"Jethro! You wanna play with us?"

"I'd love to," he said. "Kelly you wanna play?"

Kelly shook her head. "I still have to finish my homework," she said mournfully.

Jethro smiled. "Attagirl," he praised. "You can play with us once you finish it ok?" Kelly looked so sad that Jethro couldn't help but hug his little daughter. "Just think Princess," he said softly. "Summer vacation is coming up in just a few short weeks. Then you'll be able to play all the time."

Kelly whooped and smiled, heading upstairs to work on her homework. Jethro sat down on the floor with Little Tony. Shannon ruffled Tony's hair. "How about you two play, and I will fix dinner. After we eat, maybe we can all play a round?"

Tony nodded his agreement, and Jethro agreed as well. Tony was just happy to have someone to play with. He began to play the game with Jethro, each one spinning the spinner and picking plastic cherries. Once all of the cherries had been picked, Jethro smiled and slid the cardboard cherry tree out of the way. "Now we have to count our cherries," Jethro said.

Tony dumped his cherries out of his bucket and made sure they weren't piled up on top of each other. He held one small finger out determined to count the cherries.

"One…four…seven…two…"

Jethro narrowed his eyebrows a bit. They'd been working on numbers at Tony's preschool, and his teacher had mentioned at their conference how well Tony was doing with his counting.

"Give it another try," he encouraged softly. "Want me to help you?"

Tony looked up at him, his lower lip trembling just slightly. Jethro smiled. Together they began to count the cherries. "One…two…three…four…five…six…seven!"

Tony looked up at Jethro and smiled, showing off his two missing top front teeth. "Now we gots a count yours!" he exclaimed.

Jethro nodded. "Ok," he said. "Want to try to count it on your own this time?"

Tony nodded. He held out his finger again and pointed at the first cherry. "One," he said, then glanced up at Jethro for guidance. Jethro nodded and smiled. Tony smiled back. "T-Two," his voice got quieter. He pointed at the next one. "S-s-th-four?" He cringed and looked up at Jethro.

"Three," Jethro told him patiently.

Tony dropped his head. "I-I's can't do it," he said softly. "I's not s-smart." He sniffled.

Jethro dragged him over into his lap and snuggled him close. "You _are _smart. Don't you ever let anybody ever tell you that you are not smart," he said firmly. He kissed Tony's cheek. "You're just learning. Takes time. There was a time when I wasn't able to count either—I was a little boy like you and I had to learn to count."

"Really?" Tony's eyes were wide with surprise.

Jethro nodded. "Sure," he said. "You don't know how to count when you're a baby. But when you're a big kid like you, then you start to learn. And I'll help, and Kelly will help and Mommy will help you learn so you will be a really good counter in no time at all."

Together they finished counting the cherries and Tony smiled at Jethro when he was offered a high five for his job well done.

xxx

A loud noise woke Tony from his sound sleep later that night. He looked at the clock and read the numbers slowly. Two-two-four. He didn't know exactly what the numbers meant, but he knew that usually when Mommy came and woke up the numbers started with a seven. He figured that it must be really early for him to be awake.

A bright flash of light filled his room and a moment later the loud crashing noise rumbled all around the house—the kind of rumble that makes the walls shake. Tony didn't flinch at the storm. He'd overcome his fear of storms early on. Living in the garage…he may not have been able to make a lot of sound, but he could occasionally hear cars backfiring, thunder rumbling, that sort of thing. He liked those noises. They reminded him that there was a world outside of his box (that's what he called his room), a world that he wanted to learn about and be a part of. A world that was curious and wonderful and filled with colors and sounds.

He'd promised himself early on that one day he would get big and strong and would find a way to get out of the box his parents kept him in. He would get away and he would find a place in this big world outside of his house.

Tony slid out of bed and turned on his lamp. He walked to his shelf and got out his drawing pad and box of markers. He sat down in the floor with his big pad of paper and tapped his chin thoughtfully, trying to figure out what to draw.

His mean-daddy had been on his mind a lot lately. Tony was always a little bit afraid that he was going to come and take him away from Jethro and Shannon and put him back in his box. He'd been very bad; he hadn't stayed where his father had told him to. He'd stayed still for a long time after the car had driven away, but once the moon came up, Tony started wandering around.

He remembered the night his mommy died. Mommy wasn't always nice to him, but he did miss her. She smelled good and sometimes, if no one was looking, she'd pull him up in her lap, wrap her arms around him, and it felt nice, even though she was usually telling him how bad he was and how he was "Mommy's wittle pain in the ass."

Tony's left leg was hurting a bit, but not bad enough to make him want to call for Jethro and Shannon. The past few days had been so busy—lots of new people to meet, some of them nice, and some of them scary—places to go, doctors to see…Tony was grateful for the stormy night because the house was quiet. Beside his bed, Sasha raised her head, wondering what Tony was doing out of bed. Tony shifted a bit on the floor, and picked up a marker.

He stared down at his legs, crooked and twisted, deformed from the breaks inflicted by his mean-daddy. He cocked his head to the side thoughtfully and then took his green marker and very carefully drew straight lines down his legs. He stared at his legs, imagining that the green lines were outlining his bones…"I gonna have straight legs," Tony whispered to himself. He ran a finger down the green lines, smiling. He was going to get his legs fixed.

Turning his attention to the paper beside him, Tony shifted so that he could lay on his stomach while he drew. He began to color meticulously with his black marker, his little hand creating a frighteningly accurate portrayal of the scenes playing in his mind. He blinked and stared at the paper, chewing his tongue nervously, and then picked up the blue marker. His father was wearing a blue tie that day. He remembered it. Once he finished with the blue, he picked up the red marker. His eyes widened as he continued to draw and create, and his little fingers produced an image straight from his nightmares.

He pulled the paper off the pad and slung it off to the side, his mind whirling almost faster than his hands could keep up. Next he picked up a purple marker. Mama was wearing a purple dress. His little hand drew broad strokes with the fat tipped marker, and then he picked up the skinny black marker and drew wrinkles in her dress. Then he picked up the brown. Mama's hair was brown. It was long and curly, and she always tucked it up on her head. But for this picture, only some of her hair needed to be up. Tony remembered seeing long curls dropping by her face, along with the streams of blood on her mouth and on the side of her head.

Tony drew and drew, his little hands flying over the papers, ripping completed pictures off the pad, and reaching for markers to start new pictures. He drew pictures of the day Mama died, the day his father broke his leg for the second time and the broken vase. He drew a picture of his "box" in the garage, and he drew a picture of his mean-daddy holding the golf club, and another picture of him holding the fire poker.

It felt so good to draw—to get those horrible images out of his head. As soon as he translated them down onto the paper, the fear left, and he relaxed a bit more. He glanced over his shoulder at the clock on the table. Now the numbers said four-one-eight. He turned back to his paper, realizing sadly that he only had one piece of paper left. He bit his lower lip and looked around at all of the other pictures he'd drawn. They were dark, frightening images. His pictures told a story, told what had happened to his family. But he had a new family now. He had Jethro and Shannon. He had Kelly and Sasha. He'd made friends with Scott and Natalie, and even Griffin had been nicer to him.

Tony looked at the blank piece of paper, and felt as though the picture came through to his eyes. He knew what he should draw. Picking up the orange marker, Tony began to draw one last image.

xxx

Tony fell asleep with his marker still in his hand, his face on the paper, and his pictures strewn all around him. He never noticed that the storm continued to grow in its intensity. When a large gust of wind blew out the power and the house went dark and silent, Tony merely sighed, rolled over on the floor, and continued sleeping.

No one in the Gibbs house realized that all of the alarm clocks had just reset themselves.

xxx

The next morning at nine o'clock, Anne Joseph stepped up to the Gibbs' front door. She was surprised to see Jethro's SUV still in the driveway since he'd said yesterday that he had to work this morning. The social worker was joined by Maia, and also Officer Mick Powers, and Assistant District Attorney Jacob Stone. Powers had driven an unmarked car, and the ADA was wearing khakis and a polo shirt. They were doing everything they knew to do not to arouse suspicion among the neighbors, and also not to alarm the little boy who they all felt sure held all the information they needed to prosecute and convict Anthony DiNozzo Senior of his alleged crimes.

Anne knocked on the door. No one answered. The four professionals looked at one another and shrugged. Anne rang the doorbell. Again, there was no answer. Narrowing her eyes, she pulled out her phone. She wondered what was going on, and wondered if Little Tony was alright. He'd had such a hard day yesterday. Anne dialed Shannon's number and placed the phone to her ear.

"_Mmmmh hello?"_ A sleepy voice answered.

"Shannon? It's Anne."

"_Anne!"_ Shannon sounded instantly more awake. _"Hi! Good morning!"_

"Is everything alright Shannon?"

"_Everything's alright…sorry you just caught me still sleeping."_

"I thought we all agreed that nine would be alright…"

Shannon gasped in Anne's ear. _"Ohmygosh! JETHRO WAKE UP! The clocks are reset! We must have lost power last night! Oh Anne I'm so sorry! Are you here?"_

"We are," Anne said, chuckling softly.

Shannon cursed softly and then gasped. _"I am so sorry! Have you been here long?"_

"Just a few minutes. It's alright dear, we understand. The storm last night was horrible."

"_I'll be right down to let you in. Oh I'm so sorry!"_

There was a thundering sound coming from inside the house and a moment later a very rumpled looking Jethro answered the door. He was wearing his gray t-shirt and his blue and gray plaid sleep pants.

"Um…hi," he muttered. "I need coffee," he mumbled, running a hand over his face. "C'mon in." He shook hands with the officer and the ADA as they entered the house. He showed them into the kitchen where Shannon was frantically making a pot of coffee. "If you'll excuse me just a minute," Jethro said. "I need to call the boys and let them know I'm going to be late."

"I think they've probably already figured that out," Shannon snarked. "Will you go get Tony? Oh geez Kelly's missing school too," she groaned. She turned to their guests. "I am really so sorry. Can you give me just a couple of minutes to get Kelly going?"

Jethro reappeared in the kitchen. "You need to come see Tony," he said quietly. "All of you."

Glancing at each other, everyone followed Jethro up the stairs. They walked to Tony's bedroom door and Jethro paused, motioning for everyone to be quiet. He pushed the door open and the adults' eyes widened at the scene before them.

Tony was lying in the floor on his stomach. On the floor surrounding him were pieces of drawing paper—covered in color. Tony loved to draw and he always took care to fill up papers with color, not leaving white except where white was needed in the picture, and he never ever wasted the paper. This morning was no exception.

It looked as though the little one had been coloring some time during the night. Jethro turned to Shannon. "I tucked him in last night—you watched me come out of the room! I swear he was in bed when I left him!"

Shannon nodded. "I know you did," she said. "I wonder why he woke up…and why he decided to draw?"

Anne looked at the young parents. "We should wake him," she said gently.

Jethro nodded. "I'll wake him," he said softly. He stepped into the room and knelt beside his youngest child. "Tony," he said softly. "Tony it's time to wake up buddy. C'mon now."

Tony blinked and flinched, confused about why he was sleeping on the floor. "Jethro?"

"Morning bud. Power went out last night. Everyone over slept. Anne and her friends are here," Jethro said, pointing at the doorway.

"Why I's sleeping inna floor?" Tony sat up and winced when he moved his leg, rubbing his eyes with cupped hands.

"I dunno buddy? When you went to sleep last night you were in your bed. Did you wake up?"

Tony nodded and leaned into Jethro. Jethro wrapped his arms around him and hugged him. While he was hugging his boy, his eyes drifted over the pictures on the floor.

"Tony? Son did you draw these last night?"

Tony nodded. "I drawed 'em while it was storming and everyone was asleepin'," he said softly, staring at the pictures with haunted eyes.

Jethro motioned for Mick Powers to come closer. Mick took a step inside the room and his eyes widened when he saw the pictures. It wasn't difficult to recognize both Anthony DiNozzo, Sr. and Sophia DiNozzo in the pictures Tony had drawn. Mick ran a hand over his mouth and looked at Jethro for a long moment. Then he turned around to Jacob Stone.

"I have a feeling we're going to want to take very good care of these pictures." He squatted down beside Tony and Jethro. "Hey buddy," he said with a smile. "My name is Officer Mick."

Tony waved, but ducked shyly into Jethro's side.

"Can I look at your pictures?"

Tony nodded. "I's drawed what I's a membered," he said softly.

Jacob Stone came closer and looked at the pictures. Then he pulled out a cell phone and began dialing. At Mick's questioning look, Stone spoke softly. "I'm calling Judge Groome," he said softly. "We need to get that new Child Psychologist set up for today."

Mick Powers nodded and Jacob Stone moved out of the room so he could speak with the judge. The police officer looked down at Tony's legs. "Looks like someone forgot to draw on the paper," he said with a smile.

Tony looked at his legs, then looked at the police officer, then to Jethro, and then back to his legs. "I just was seeing what it a be like," he said softly.

"Seeing what what would be like?" Shannon asked, stepping closer. Her eyes widened when she saw the pictures, so she turned her focus to the lines drawn on Tony's legs instead.

"Seeing what it gonna be like after I get my leg fixed," Tony said. "I's drawed straight bones on my leg," the child explained.

"It's going to be great, isn't it Tony?" Jethro asked, smiling sadly at his little boy.

Tony nodded. He looked up and saw Maia and Anne in the doorway. He waved. "Hi Miss Anne," he said softly.

"Good morning Tony," she said softly. Maia waved.

"Tony? Can I pick up your pictures?" Mick Powers asked, his eyes roaming over the evidence splayed out before him.

Tony nodded. Jethro hugged him and Shannon held one of his hands.

Mick picked up the picture of "the box" in the garage where Tony often slept at his bio-family's house. "Can you tell me about this picture?"

Tony nodded. "That my room at Mean-Daddy house. Inna garage."

Mick glanced up at Tony and then at Shannon and Jethro. He pulled out his pad and began taking notes. He flipped to another picture and this time Tony shuddered. "What about this one?"

"That my Mean-Daddy vase. He got it somewhere far away. 'Nelope broked it and she blameded me for it."

Mick thought the vase looked suspiciously like some of the stolen art that officers around the world had spent years searching for. Tony picked up another picture and handed it to Mick. "That picture goes next," he said.

Mick looked at it. "Can you tell me who is in this picture?"

Tony nodded. "That my mean-daddy," he said, closing his eyes and snuggling a bit more against Jethro. "He mad at me." Indeed the picture showed a man, dressed in a suit with a blue tie and hair neatly combed, holding a golf club over his head with both hands, his face full of dark lines and obvious anger.

"And he was angry with you because…"

"Because 'Nelope told him I breaked the vase. I did not breaked it. She broked it." Tony gasped as the memory washed over him. Mick gave him a moment, then pressed gently for more information. "Tell me what you remember Tony," he said gently.

"My…my mean-daddy…he…he say…he say I broked something vallable a his…so he gonna breaked something vallable of mines," Tony whispered. Fingers unconsciously wrapped around Jethro's shirt and he stared at the floor unblinking.

Mick stopped taking notes when Tony stopped talking. "Can you tell me about that?" he asked finally.

Tony shuddered. "I's broked a vase…so my mean-daddy breaked my leg. With a golf club," he added.

This time it was Jethro who gasped. Tony looked up at him and saw that his Jethro had tears in his eyes. Why was he crying? Was he sad?

"Jethro?" Tony said softly. When a tear spilled down Jethro's cheek, Tony reached up and touched it, a look of wonder on his face. "Why you cry?"

"I'm crying because it makes me sad to hear what happened to you," Jethro told him softly, hugging him tighter. "It makes me very sad that you got hurt."

Tony sat up on his knees and held Jethro's face in both of his little hands. "Don't be sad Jethro," he said. "I's ok now. You's saved me. A member?"

Jethro nodded. "Just makes me sad that I couldn't have saved you before," he said.

Tony shrugged. "A fore I couldnta comed with ya. A fore I was still with my mean-daddy."

Jethro nodded, smiling at Tony's gently childish logic. He watched as the child turned back to the pictures on the floor. His gaze settled on one of particular interest to Mick. Slowly, Tony reached out and picked it up.

There was a woman lying on the floor. It looked like a bathtub was behind her, and a sink was beside her. Her fingernails were painted red, and her dress was purple. Her hair was dark and curly and falling out of its place on the back of her head, dangling in her face. The woman's eyes were closed. Her lip had what looked like blood on it, and her head had blood on it. Above her body, on the side of the tub, was what looked like a blood smear on it. Just below her hands were cuts in the shape of an X, with what looked like even more blood coming out of her arms.

"That my Mama," Tony said sadly, staring at the picture for a long moment. "She liked her purple dress."

"It's a lovely dress, Tony," Shannon said, fighting for control of her emotions.

"Can you tell me what she's doing in your picture Tony?" Mick asked. He was still taking notes on everything that came out of the child's mouth.

"That my Mama," Tony said again. "Hers go to heaven."

"Can you tell me what happened," Mick asked softly.

Tony was quiet for a long moment, staring at his lap. Mick was just about to speak up again when Jethro shook his head once. He knew his boy would talk, but he also knew sometimes it took him a minute to get his words and thoughts together.

"I comed in from outside a cause it started a rain. When I goed up a stairs to tell Mama that I's comed inside, I heared her and my mean-daddy yelling. They was fighting."

"Do you know what they were fighting about?"

Tony thought for a minute then shook his head. "They was yelling about counts but I do not know what a counts is."

_Accounts, _Mick thought to himself._ They were fighting over money. Motive. _

Powers glanced up and saw the ADA standing in the doorway again, listening to the story Tony was telling, taking notes of his own.

"That's ok Tony," Mick said softly. "So you said they were yelling at each other."

"Yes," Tony nodded. "Mean-Daddy was mad at Mama, and Mama was really mad at Mean-Daddy."

"What happened next?"

"I's heared something break and Mama maked a funny sound. So I's went inside a room where they was."

Jethro felt sick. He didn't want to know, he didn't want to know he didn't want to know…a glance at his wife told him she was feeling the same way.

"What did you see when you walked into the room where they were?"

"Mama was onna floor. Her mouth was bleeding. She looked like she was mad and scared. My mean-daddy he hadda fire stick and he was swinging it around."

"What sort of fire stick?"

Tony looked at him like he was nuts. "The kind you poke a fire with," he said. "He was mad he kept yelling. Mama yelled at me, she say, 'Go a your room! Get outta here.' My mean-daddy askeded me why I's comed in and I's telled him it's a cause I hearded Mama sounding like she hurt. My mean-daddy got mad at me then…he askeded me if I's was Mama's a tector, if I was her guard. I told him no. He gots more mad at me."

Tony stopped for a moment, caught up in the nightmarish memory from his past. Jethro was still hugging him and Shannon squeezed his hand reassuringly. Finally Tony blinked and continued his sad tale.

"My mean-daddy lifted up a fire stick and holded it over his head like a baseball bat. He yell at me and say mean things to me. Mama tell him no, but he just smile. He start to swing a stick at me and I closeded my eyes. I gotsed hitted by something, but a fore I knowed what it was, Mama falled down. My mean-daddy hit her inna head with a fire stick."

"What did you get hit with?"

"I gotsed hitted by Mama…when my mean-daddy hitted her she crashed into me and knockeded me over."

Tony picked up another picture, this one a picture of Senior holding a fire poker like a baseball bat, just as Tony had described. Shannon excused herself and left the room. Tony looked questioningly at Jethro, but he just nodded for Tony to continue.

Mick looked at the pictures in his hand. There was a piece of this story missing… "Tony it looks like in this picture you drew of your mom that she is in a bathroom. Were they fighting in the bathroom?"

Mick already suspected that she hadn't been in the bathroom when she struck her head—the fire poker they'd found, along with the blood stain in Senior's office had given them some indication of what happened. But it seemed this child…this innocent little boy…had seen the whole thing. He was filling in the blanks and answering the remaining questions that the officers had asked with a frightening clarity.

"They was fighting in my mean-daddy's room," Tony said softly. "And a-after my mean-daddy hitted Mama and she knockeded me over, my mean-daddy told me a go ta my room. He was meanin' my box, but I hided inna other bedroom. My mean-daddy pickeded Mama up and put her inna bathroom. Mama was makin a sounds like my mean-daddy makes when he's was drinking his special medicine."

Jethro thought that might mean she was making groaning sounds of some variety…the poor woman wasn't dead after the hit though, and that was almost the worst part…or so he thought. His eyes widened as he listened to the rest of Tony's story.

"What happened after your father took your mother into the bathroom?"

Tony leaned a little closer to Jethro. "He pickeded up something that was shiny…it looked like a knife…was like what Mama used on her legs sometimes…and he pickeded up Mama's arm and he drawed a line on her arm right here," Tony indicated his wrist and the direction of the cut on his own arm. Tony's actions matched up with the marks found on Sophia DiNozzo's arms perfectly. "And then he did a other one on her other arm."

Mick was scribbling furiously trying to keep up with Tony's story. He looked around and saw the last picture. "Tell me about this one," he asked softly and Tony smiled, reaching out and taking it.

"After the doctors comed and taked Mama away, I's tried a stay away from my mean-daddy. He broked my leg again…with the golf club," Tony said pointing at the picture he'd described earlier with the picture of the vase.

"That happened after your mother died?"

Tony nodded.

"Ok, then what?"

"After my leg got better, even though it's still crookeded, my mean-daddy tell me 'go get inna car,' and he told me to not talk or he was gonna thwow me offa bridge. We drived a long time and then he's leaved me inna parking lot."

Mick looked at the picture Tony had drawn once he finished taking his notes. "Who is in this picture?"

Tony looked at the picture. It was full of light colors and straight lines. "That picture is of my Jethro when he finded me. He was all lighted up and he was nice a me." Tony smiled. "This my favorite picture I drawed."

Mick looked at the tiny boy, cradled by the stoic looking marine and nodded. He could see why that picture would be Tony's favorite. That was a picture of all of Tony's dreams coming true.

TBC…


	22. Ohana

_**Thanks to my dear and wonderful friend Gotgoats who is betaing for me using her cell phone because her computer is broken. YOU ROCK. SERIOUSLY. I love ya dude!  
><strong>_**Author's Note:** You've all been so patient with me…this chapter is a bit of a reward for all of you surviving the last few chapters. I think you'll really find it lighter than we've been seeing. Enjoy!

**Daddy's Boy  
><strong>**Chapter 22: Ohana**

Several days after Tony's startling interview with the police officer and assistant district attorney, Jethro picked up the phone and dialed a familiar number. He nearly hit his knees with relief when he heard the phone being answered on the other end of the line. He'd never felt as though he needed to hear this voice as much as he did right now. He was growing more anxious by the day; he didn't know what to do. His whole world felt larger than life and out of his control. He needed some help.

"_Hello?"_

"Dad. Heeey Dad," Jethro breathed out shakily, fighting for control of his emotions. It had been a hard few days since he'd last spoken to the older Gibbs.

"_Leroy! Hello son, how are you? How are things going?" _ Jackson sat down on the stool under the phone.

"Could…be better," Jethro said evasively.

"_What's wrong? C'mon talk to your old man," _Jackson urged his son to talk. Sometimes it was hard to get his tight lipped son going, but usually once he started he'd unload everything.

"I don't know what to do," Jethro said softly.

Jackson looked at the clock. Nearly 4pm in Stillwater, Pennsylvania so that meant it was nearly 1pm in Oceanside. Jethro must be at lunch.

"_Don't know what to do about what?"_

"Tony," Jethro said softly. "We've been gathering information for his father's trial…Tony's been sharing stories of what happened when he lived with his parents…Dad it's horrible," Jethro's voice dropped to a shaky whisper. "That child has seen more horrible things than I have—and I've been to war!"

Jackson thought for a moment. He wished he was close enough to really help his son and his family out. _"Talk to me Leroy," _he said._ "I want to help. Talk it out to me. We'll figure it out."_

Jethro began telling his father some of the things that Tony had shared. He skipped over the most horrible details, but described to his dad how Tony's leg had been broken two different times, how he'd lived in "the box" in the garage, how he had witnessed his mother's murder, and how he'd been abandoned by his father in a parking lot.

"He drew these pictures the other day…we had a power outage overnight and everyone overslept. It was the morning the police and ADA were coming to interview Tony…he'd been up during the night and had drawn pictures…Dad you should see 'em! They were like…they were crime scene drawings," Jethro said, a touch of wonder in his voice. "He's such a good little artist," Jethro continued, a touch of pride in his tone. "But his pictures were so accurate…the police officer took them and they're going to use them as evidence in the trial. They can also use Tony's interview as evidence as well. We met with a child psychologist who conducted another interview. It was videotaped and the lawyers were both present, and so was the social worker we're working with, and Tony's guardian ad litem."

"_Is he going to have to take the stand?"_

Jethro sighed. "We're hoping not. It was brought to our attention by the ADA, Mr. Stone, that if Senior argues for it, Tony might have to take the stand. Defendants on trial have the right to face those people who want to testify against them. It basically forces the witness to testify to the defendant's face. The ADA is meeting with Senior's attorney to make sure that there will be no need to get Tony on the stand. After everything he's been through, that would be really hard for him."

Jackson listened to his son talk and listened to the things he wasn't saying as well.

"_You're doing a good job Leroy,"_ he said softly.

Jethro scoffed in his father's ear. He was quiet after that for a long moment, and Jackson felt sure that Leroy was going to say something important. He was always an introspective boy, choosing his words carefully and speaking once he knew what he wanted to say. Tony was very similar to his new daddy.

"I wonder sometimes," Jethro said uneasily, his voice wavering. "I wonder if I can do this. If we can do this. I wonder if we're what he needs. We're fighting so hard to keep him, but what if we hurt him somehow? What if we can't afford to get him something he needs? What if we aren't enough?"

Jethro's desperate rambling broke off in his father's ear and Jackson listened to his son's ragged breathing for a moment. His broken voice told him that he'd let at least a few tears escape.

Jackson waited until his son had gotten himself together a bit before speaking. _"I want you to listen to me,"_ Jackson said gently, but his tone left no room for debate.

"I'm listening," Jethro said softly.

"_I know this is difficult for you. And I know that you only want what is best for Tony. So let me tell you. You and Shannon are what's best for Tony. Kelly is what's best for Tony. This family is what's best for Tony. No one ever said this would be easy, but I think I taught you that the stuff that is worth having is never easy to get."_

"Yes sir," Jethro said quietly, listening to his father's words, but not convinced of them yet.

"_Don't call me sir, I work for a living," _Jackson said firmly. _"Now Leroy I know you're scared. That's what makes you a good father. A bad father wouldn't be scared of all of these things, because he either wouldn't know they could happen, wouldn't care if they did, or wouldn't stick around to handle it. I can't see you falling into any of those categories. And you forget…I have seen you with Tony. I watched you with him at Christmas. Leroy that child thinks you hung the moon!"_

"I didn't hang the moon," Jethro said, his voice tinged with embarrassment. "I don't know why he thinks that."

"_You're his hero Leroy. You saved him. You plucked him right out of his miserable world and gave him this wonderful place he's never had—a place called home. He adores you. __You are everything that his father wasn't. __You aren't his father. __You are his Daddy. __And you are the best thing that's ever happened to that kid."_

Jethro was quiet for a long moment after his dad finished speaking. Long enough that Jackson began to wonder if their call had somehow become disconnected.

"Thanks Dad," he finally whispered.

"_Don't thank me son,"_ Jackson said. _ "I didn't do anything. You're doing it. I'm just pointing it out to you."_

"Needed it though. I dunno…sometimes it all seems…I mean I wonder how I got here, y'know?"

Jackson nodded. _ "I know Leroy, I know. So tell me when the trial starts?"_

Jethro began talking again, rambling on about the upcoming trial that would begin next week, and Jackson smiled as a plan began to form behind his eyes.

xxx

Jethro finished working that afternoon with a bit more bounce in his step. He felt like his father was up to something, but he wasn't sure what. He appreciated the encouragement he received from the older man, and knew that his wife wished she would receive as much love and support from her mother. Shannon's father had died when she was in high school, and in times like this, Jethro knew she missed her daddy dearly.

He drove home from work, grateful for the upcoming weekend. Today was Friday—the kids could stay up a little later tonight, and they could all sleep in tomorrow. Was going to be nice. The weather was supposed to be good, and Jethro hoped that Tony would be feeling good this weekend. He pulled into the driveway and saw Tony was sitting outside on the front steps. Sasha had a ball and was happily chewing on it in the front yard. Tony looked absolutely miserable.

"Hey! My Little Tony! What's up Bud? How was your day, eh? Good day?"

Jethro plopped down on the steps beside his little boy. Tony was looking at his lap, blinking furiously. Jethro touched his back lightly and Tony flinched and then looked up. "I-I's sorry," he whispered. Tears were filling his eyes and his lower lip was quivering pitifully.

"What's wrong Tony? What's the matter?" Jethro looked around. Where was Shannon?

"I was um…I was playing with Sasha. We was playing with the ball…and…and I started a think."

Jethro scooted a little closer and wrapped an arm around Tony's shoulders. "What were ya thinking about?"

Tony shrugged and stared at his lap. Jethro frowned. It wasn't like Tony not to share when something was bothering him.

"Tony? Buddy…you know you can talk to me," Jethro pushed gently, "c'mon…tell Daddy."

Tony let out a long, shuddering breath. "I…I don't wanna go talk to a judge," Tony whispered finally. He blinked hard and the tears in his eyes ran down his nose, dripping off the tip.

Jethro raised an eyebrow. "You might not have to," he said gently. "But if you do, it will only be Miss Anne and you, Miss Maia, and the lawyers with the judge. Your father won't be there."

Tony looked up at Jethro. "I's can't tell," he whispered. "I know I'm a only one who knows the stuff, but I can't tell…my m-mean-daddy'll…he'll…" Tony broke off in a quiet sob.

Jethro hugged him close. "Hey…where's this coming from? Talk to me son, tell me what's going on."

"My m-mean-daddy…he say…he say he gonna…he say no one a believe me…"

Tony coughed suddenly through his tears and Jethro furrowed his brow a bit. He brushed a hand lightly over Tony's forehead and the child flinched away, but not before Gibbs could feel the heat on the child's skin.

"You feelin' ok bud?"

Tony stared at his lap and didn't answer. It was all too big, everything was so overwhelming.

Jethro leaned in a little bit closer. "You feel like you're running a fever," he said gently. "Does anything hurt?"

"I's not a pposed a get sick," Tony whispered pitifully. "I's ok."

"Sometimes we get sick and we can't help it," Jethro told him. He pulled Tony up into his lap. The child hissed when his head moved and once Jethro pulled him close, he tucked the left side of his head against Jethro's body.

"My ear," Tony said softly. "Hurting."

Jethro pressed a kiss to the top of Tony's head and ran a hand over the back of the child's hair. "Let's get ya inside. Where's Mommy? She know your ear is hurting?"

Tony shook his head. "I did not tell her. I did not want to make her mad."

"You wouldn't make her mad. She works at the hospital remember? She likes to help people—especially kids—feel better when they're sick or hurt." Jethro stood up and whistled for the dog, causing Tony to flinch. "Sorry bud," he said softer. Together they went inside and Jethro walked to the living room, looking for his wife.

"Hey Babe," Shannon said, smiling at Jethro when he walked in. Her expression became concerned when she saw the way Jethro was carrying Tony. "Is Tony alright?"

"He has an ear ache, and it feels to me like he's running a fever," Jethro said, keeping his voice soft.

Shannon nodded. "Tony? Let's go upstairs and take a look ok?"

Tony nodded, but refused to let go of Jethro. "Kelly's over at Maddie's," Shannon said as they headed for Tony's room. She stopped by the bathroom to grab her medical bag from under the sink. She joined the boys in her son's room and dropped to her knees in front of Tony and Jethro.

"Which ear hurts honey?" She asked softly.

Tony pointed to his left ear.

Shannon nodded. "Ok then. Let me take your temperature…we'll use your right ear," she gently stuck the ear thermometer into Tony's right ear. A moment later it beeped and she looked at it. "One hundred point two," Shannon said. "Not a high fever, but enough to make you feel yucky."

She pulled out her otoscope and turned it on. "It's just a light, see?" Shannon showed Tony how she could turn it on and off and she shined it on his hand. Tony nodded. "I'm going to look in your ear that doesn't hurt first, ok?" Tony nodded again and Shannon gently touched Tony's ear and guided the small funneled light into his ear and peeked in. "Jethro!" She exclaimed and both Jethro and Tony jumped.

"What? What is it?"

"You aren't going to believe this!" Shannon's eyes were wide with surprise.

"Believe _what_?"

"Tony has frogs in his ear!"

Below them, Tony giggled. "I's do nots," he said.

"You do! Look Jethro," Shannon stuck the otoscope back in Tony's ear again and Jethro peeked in this time. He had no idea what he was looking at, but he knew it was one of his wife's many tricks to help kids relax during an exam.

"Oh my goodness! Tony you do have frogs in there! Little orange spotted ones!"

Now Tony was laughing very hard, smiling and wiggling on the bed. Shannon eventually got Tony settled back down a little bit. "Now let's look and see if you've got more on this side," she said, touching his left ear gently. "I bet this ear's got a frog with big feet in it, and that's why it hurts," she told him matter-of-factly.

Shannon gently put the narrow end of the funneled light into Tony's ear and the child flinched away slightly with a whimper. "Shhhh…it's alright now love," she whispered. "Mommy's almost done."

A moment later she let go of Tony's ear and turned off her light. "That ear looks like it has a bug in it. I'm going to call Dr. Walters and see if he can't give you some medicine to get rid of the bug ok?"

Tony's eyes widened. "A real bug?" A hand moved to cover his ear.

Shannon smiled and shook her head. "Nope, it looks like you have an ear infection," she said.

Tony nodded and then looked at his lap. "I's sorry," he said. "I's didn't mean a get sick."

"Oh sweetie, it isn't your fault. These things just happen," she said. She glanced sadly at her husband who looked saddened by his son's words.

The phone rang. "I'll get it," Jethro said. He stood up and walked out of the room.

"I-Is Jethro mad a me?"

Shannon laid down on the bed and patted the mattress beside her. Tony crawled up next to his Shannon and snuggled up close and closed his eyes.

"No sweetie," she said softly. "Daddy isn't mad at you. I promise he isn't mad at you."

"Hims looks mad," Tony said. He shivered a bit and Shannon grabbed the colorful fleece throw on the end of the bed and draped it over Tony's shoulders.

"He is angry because your other family was so mean to you," Shannon said softly. "But he isn't mad because of anything you did or did not do. None of this was your fault."

"Sh-Shannon I's don't wanna goes a court next week," Tony said pitifully, snuggling a bit closer.

She wrapped her arms around him and nodded. "I know honey," she whispered. "I wish we could get around it. But your father did some awful things to you. He needs to be punished for what he did. And in order for the judge to know what your father did, you might have to tell him."

The Gibbses agreed that they would prepare Tony for the possibility that he would have to go to court. No one thought he would have to, but because there was a chance of it, they didn't want to surprise him with it.

"I's gonna go a jail?" Tony whimpered.

"Oh no sweetheart. You'll go talk to the judge, and once you are done you'll be able to come home with us. We aren't going to take you there and leave you. For part of it you might have to go with Miss Anne, but Daddy and I will be right outside the whole time. We aren't going to let anyone else have you."

"What's if a court say I's have a go back to my m-mean-daddy," Tony whispered.

Shannon kissed Tony's forehead. "You aren't going back to your father Tony," she promised, remembering the plan she and Jethro had decided on in the event they lost custody. Tony would not be going back to his father.

Jethro came back in. He'd changed clothes and looked a bit less angry. "That was Maddie's mom," Jethro said. "She was inviting Kelly to spend the night. I told her that was ok…hope you don't mind."

Shannon nodded. "That's fine with me," she said. "We can have a slumber party of our own!"

Jethro raised an eyebrow. "We'll have one with Tony!" Shannon said. "What do ya say Tony? We'll all go lay on the couch and watch a movie and eat dinner in the living room. How does that sound?"

Tony's eyes widened. "B-but w-what if I's spill? W-what if I's makes a mess?"

Jethro kissed him on his still warm forehead. "Then we'll clean it up. Hey Mommy," he said, turning to Shannon. "What do ya think about some Motrin for Tony to get his fever down a bit?"

Shannon nodded. "It's downstairs in the medicine cabinet," she said. She picked up some pillows and a blanket from the bed. "Jethro you grab Tony, I'll get us a slumber party all set up. Tony you wanna watch a movie?"

Jethro scooped Tony up and he nodded, tucking his left ear against Jethro's shoulder.

Shannon smiled and ruffled his hair lightly. "Ok then you get to pick the movie. I'll make us something super fast for dinner and we'll be all set. Ok?"

"Sounds good," Jethro said. He padded in his socked feet down the stairs. Shannon put the pillows on the couch and the blanket on the table in front of them. Then she hurried off to the kitchen.

"What movie do you think we should watch Tony?" Jethro stroked his chin as he stared at the movie collection on the shelf. Tony joined him and looked too.

It didn't take him long to decide on one of the many Disney movies they owned. "Lilo and 'Titch," he said, pulling it off the shelf, recognizing it by the cover art on the movie case. He handed it to Jethro and then went and laid down on the couch.

Jethro set the movie up and then turned, the corners of his mouth drooping slightly at the listlessness of the normally pretty active child. It was obvious he didn't feel well. Sasha dropped to the floor in front of the couch where her boy lay. She knew he wasn't feeling well, and was trying to stick close to offer whatever comfort she could for him.

Shannon returned and saw Jethro sitting on the floor in front of the couch, his back resting against it. His head was near Tony's, though the child's head was on a pillow and he was covered by the blanket. She set the plate of sandwiches and bag of chips on the coffee table and gave Tony his Motrin. Then she went back for their drinks. She handed Jethro a glass of green tea, a cup of apple juice for Tony, and set her own glass of tea on the coffee table. Then she sat on the floor, her back against the couch, her head near Tony's knees. Tony could see the TV between their heads.

Jethro turned on the movie and they began to watch the story of the little girl who lived in Hawaii, took peanut butter sandwiches to her fish friends in the ocean, and who became friends with a little blue alien named Experiment 626 which she named Stitch, thinking he was a dog. When it came to the part where Lilo was sitting with her big sister in the hammock and they were talking about family, Jethro and Shannon heard Tony sigh.

"Ohana means family," Tony recited softly with the movie. "Family means no one gets left behind or forgotten."

Jethro glanced back at Tony and winked, and Shannon squeezed Jethro's hand.

"I wish Kelly was here too," Tony said softly, a yawn breaking the end of his words.

"Yeah? Why's that Tony?"

"She my big sister," Tony said, yawning again. "Like Lilo has. I miss her," he whispered.

"She'll be home tomorrow, Sweetheart," Shannon said. She raised up on her knees and checked Tony's fever, satisfied that it had come down some. She kissed his forehead. "I love you sweet boy."

"Shannon?"

"Yeah baby?"

"Is you and Jethro really gonna be my new mommy and new daddy?"

The adults shared a glance. "Yeah Tony," Shannon said softly. "We're going to do everything we can to make sure that we get to be your new mommy and your new daddy. And then we can be a family forever."

Tony smiled sleepily. "Our very own ohana," he whispered.

Jethro got up on his knees and smiled down at Tony. He kissed his forehead and nodded. "Yep, our very own ohana," he agreed softly.

Tony closed his eyes. "That'll be the bestest days evers," he whispered, just before he fell asleep.

Jethro and Shannon shared a look. Who knew what the future would hold for them?

TBC…


	23. The Trial of Anthony DiNozzo Sr 1

**Author's Note:** Well here we go…the event you've all been waiting for! Please keep in mind that I do not work in the legal profession (and try to stay as far away from courtrooms as possible haha) so my knowledge is a bit limited. If anyone out there works in the legal field and would be ok with me picking your brain a teeny bit, please let me know!  
><strong>Warning<strong>: **SENIOR**. Do I need to say more? Hold onto your hats folks…it's gonna be a bumpy ride as we get closer to the end! All the previous warnings apply, from now until the end. You have been warned—ANYTHING COULD HAPPEN. *evil grin*  
><em><strong>Thanks as always to my wonderful superwoman beta, Gotgoats. I love ya dude! Thank you sooooo much!<strong>_

**Daddy's Boy  
><strong>**Chapter 23: The Trial of Anthony DiNozzo Senior 1**

JoAnne called on Sunday to wish everyone good luck in court this week and let them know she was thinking about them. She had several important work-related meetings this week and was unable to fly to California, but she wanted to hear from them each day and wanted to know what was going on. Sunset on Sunday night found the Gibbses tucking the children into bed and the phone rang.

"I'll get it," Shannon said. She kissed Kelly on her forehead and rubbed her nose against her daughter's and then headed for the phone in their bedroom. Jethro was still reading Tony his story. His fever was down, and his ear was still sore, but Dr. Walters had called in some drops that were helping it feel better. They'd had a quiet, laid back weekend, but none of them were ready for what would happen this week. This week the trial against Tony's father began.

"Hello," Shannon answered the phone with a soft voice, wondering who would be calling this late.

"Hi Shannon," Jackson's voice came through the receiver. "How's your evening?"

"Hey Jack! We're doing ok, just putting the kids to bed. What's up?"

"Well I was wondering if you could do me a favor…"

A few minutes later Shannon hung up the phone and smiled. She walked to Tony's bedroom and quietly opened the door. Tony was snuggled up to Jethro, leg brace strapped on, and thumb in his mouth, and he and his Jethro were laying with their heads pressed close together, reading a book about trains.

"Jethro?" She said softly.

Jethro stopped reading and glanced over the top of the book. Tony was almost asleep. "Yeah?"

"Your father just called and needs me to do him a favor…I'll be back in just a few minutes ok?"

"Is everything ok?"

"Yeah," Shannon said with a smile. "I just need to go pick something up for him."

Jethro nodded. "He probably sent us something for this week," he said quietly and thoughtfully, remembering their phone conversation a couple of days earlier.

Shannon nodded. "He sure did. I'm gonna go get it ok?"

Jethro nodded and raised the book back up. "Be careful," he said softly. "I love you."

"Love you too sweetheart." She kissed Tony on the forehead and left.

xxx

Anthony DiNozzo Sr. banged on the bars of his cell, hoping to get someone's attention. A few minutes later, Chuck, the guard on duty again, showed up.

"You're makin' a lotta noise out here DiNozzo. You have trial in the morning. Isn't it past your bedtime?"

"Quit being a smartass and call my lawyer. I need to speak with her before tomorrow. It's imperative."

Chuck narrowed his eyes a bit but nodded. "I'll call her and tell her, but don't blame me if she don't wanna come down and see your sorry self this late at night."

xxx

Brandi Paxton settled deeper into the couch cushions as her fiancé answered the door and paid the pizza guy. Teo thanked the kid and closed the door, returning to her side. They were young lawyers, newly appointed public defenders, fresh out of law school, idealistic and poor. Sunday night was their special time—they ordered pizza, drank cheap beer, and watched smutty television. They were each twenty-eight years old and they were happy.

There was one particular show that the two young lawyers especially liked. There was blood and gore, vampires and spirits, clueless cops and hot sex scenes. They pinched pennies to pay for the extra cable in order to afford this channel specifically so they could watch this show. It came on every week, and every week Teo and Brandi were in front of their television, mushroom and onion pizza on the table in front of them, PBRs chilling in an igloo cooler in front of the couch. Brandi turned out the light, clicked on the television, and snuggled up to her lover's side.

She lived for Sunday nights.

They were just over halfway through the episode, their pizza and their second beer each, when Brandi's cell phone began to ring. She looked at Teo and groaned, tucking her feet back into the cushion and turning her attention back to the show.

"I don't wanna answer it," she said, not taking her eyes off the show on the television.

"Honey…what if it's about trial in the morning?" Teo's voice was soft in the semi-dark room.

Brandi frowned. "I hate it when you're right," she grumbled. She was representing Anthony DiNozzo Sr. She'd been appointed by the courts as his legal defense last month, and she could not wait for this trial to be over. It was promising to become a big trial, perhaps one that would get her some recognition, but it didn't sit well with her. Her best friend's father had been abusive when she was a child…she remembered the fear in her friend's face, and she remembered how sad she was when the family suddenly moved away after CPS had been called. She wondered if her friend was still alive.

It was difficult for her to want to defend this man because of her own experience with abuse, but for other reasons as well. He was arrogant and proud, he was freakishly intelligent, he knew the laws, but worst of all…worst of all, he knew he was guilty. And he didn't care. He knew he'd committed the crimes he'd been charged with—she could see it in his eyes. And yet, he fully expected to be exonerated and set free.

Brandi answered the phone. "Brandi Paxton." She listened for a moment, and then frowned and took another bite of pizza. "I'll be there soon." She snapped the phone shut and turned back to the television. Her show had a few minutes left, and there was a half slice of pizza that she still needed to eat. Teo smiled at her and kissed her forehead. He knew this case was bugging her.

Mr. DiNozzo could wait.

Once the show ended, Brandi rose from the couch and walked to her closet. She pulled on something tasteful and professional, but not as formal as what she would wear to the office. After all, it was late on a Sunday night—her day off. Kissing Teo, she left and got in the car. She drove sedately through Los Angeles to the jail, in no hurry, and when she got there she greeted the guard warmly with a friendly smile.

Chuck, the guard on duty, returned her friendly smile and the two exchanged pleasantries for a moment while Chuck unlocked the door to the cell block. They walked through the dimly lit hallway. It was past time for lights out, but since DiNozzo had trial in the morning and he'd wanted to speak so urgently with his lawyer, a special request had been granted.

"Good evening Mr. DiNozzo," Brandi said coolly from her space outside the bars. She felt somewhat like she needed to take a shower after every visit—if nothing else to go through the motions of cleaning the slime off.

DiNozzo's hair was longer than it had been when he was arrested. His face needed shaving and he had deep dark circles under his eyes. But she could tell by the firm line of his mouth that the man was up to something.

"Took ya long enough," her client snapped from the bed where he sat.

"Yes, well, you called me on a Sunday night. I was not exactly in a position to drop everything and come at a moment's notice," she replied tartly. She didn't like DiNozzo. Didn't like the way he treated her, didn't like the way he spoke about his family, hated the way he spoke about his child. He knew he was guilty of the crimes he'd been accused of—he just didn't care. And that bothered Brandi—a lot.

"You're my lawyer," he snapped back. "It's your job to make yourself available to me when I need you."

"In case you didn't notice," she said, her voice carrying a firmness that surprised her, "I arrived within an hour of your call on a day when I am not working. You're lucky I came at all—I could have made you wait until the morning."

DiNozzo gasped, unused to being talked to in this manner. He rose and stepped to the bars. Brandi was standing far enough back that she didn't have to back up and was not within arm's reach of him. He snarled through the bars at her, his face and body radiating malice towards her—towards this entire situation.

"So tell me," Brandi said. "What is so important that it couldn't wait until I see you in the morning?"

"My dear," DiNozzo said, his voice changing and smoothing like butter, "you sound as if you have something better to do than represent me."

She thought of Teo at home. She thought of the children she wanted to defend, and the laws she wanted to enforce. She wondered how in the world she'd found herself working at the mercy of the system—how in the world she'd found herself representing people like Mr. DiNozzo.

She wondered if it was worth selling her soul to become successful. After all, money could buy you lots of things—but she still had to look at herself in the mirror each day. She had to live with the decisions she made, the things she said, the lies she would tell. She wondered how far she would be willing to go for a client. She didn't think she'd be willing to sacrifice her career or her morals for this man.

"Actually Mr. DiNozzo," she said with a smirk. "I am a very busy woman. However my job right now is to focus on your trial. So tell me what you needed or I'm going home."

"Oh my dear you can most certainly go home," DiNozzo sneered at her. Brandi's eyes narrowed. "You see, the reason I called you down here is to let you know that your services will no longer be required. I will be representing myself."

Brandi blinked in shock; she hadn't been expecting this. "You're going to do what?"

"I don't think you're taking my case serious enough to suit me," DiNozzo continued. "So why don't you run along back to the public defender's office and pretend to be a lawyer, and I will defend myself. You can let the judge know my decision."

Her eyes narrowed. She didn't like this one bit. "I most certainly will be speaking with the judge," she vowed, before turning and leaving without looking back.

She had one shot to try and help the little boy who'd managed to escape this evil man's home. She could only hope that her efforts would be enough.

xxx

Jethro was sitting on the couch, television remote in his hand, mindlessly flipping channels, trying not to think about the upcoming trial tomorrow, trying not to worry about Shannon—she'd been gone nearly an hour…hadn't she said she'd be right back? It was dark and raining, and getting later by the minute. He let out a silent sigh of relief when the lock turned and the door swung open.

"I'm home," Shannon said softly, keeping in mind that the children were asleep upstairs. "Jack sent us quite a surprise," she commented, glancing over her shoulder.

Jethro sat up a bit. "Oh? What is it? He didn't mention anything on the phone…"

Much to his son's delight, Jackson stepped through the door and smiled. "Hello son."

Jethro was on his feet in an instant. "Dad! Hey Dad! I was _not_ expecting you to come out here! You didn't mention it—we could have been waiting—the kids are already in bed—they'll be so surprised!"

Jackson stepped over to Jethro and put his hands on his shoulders. "Now, now Leroy calm down before you wake the babies. Let them sleep. I'll be here until the trial is over."

Jethro smiled, his chest tight with emotion and he nodded, wordless at the wonderful surprise. "I…I dunno what to say…I…Thanks Dad," he whispered.

Jackson pulled him into a rough hug. "Do you have any coffee in this place?"

Jethro laughed and nodded. "Sure Dad…right this way."

The adults sat around the kitchen table sipping coffee and talking about the upcoming week. They decided that Jackson would surprise Kelly by taking her to school the following morning, where he would stay for morning story with her, and then he would meet the others at the courthouse. The judge wanted Tony there at the very least for the first day. After that they hoped Tony wouldn't have to go. Jackson leaned back in his chair, cradling his cup of coffee to his chest.

"Leroy…now I'm not trying to be pessimistic here…but I have to ask…what are you kids gonna do if the judge says that you have to give Tony back to his father? How's Tony going to handle that?"

Jethro and Shannon looked at each other for a long moment. "Tony will not be going back to his father, Dad," Jethro finally said quietly. "We're not letting that happen."

"But if the judge…ohhhh," Jackson said, realization dawning. He looked at his son and daughter-in-law and felt his chest swell with pride. "Well then I guess I'd better stick around in case we decide to take an impromptu family vacation, hadn't I?" He smiled.

Jethro stared at his father for a long moment before reaching out a hand and patting his dad's arm and smiling. "Damn right," he agreed. Shannon nodded.

Damn right.

xxx

The next morning Kelly woke up before Tony did and stumbled sleepily out of her bedroom. She got dressed and picked up her hairbrush and elastic band and went searching for her mother. She didn't see her upstairs so she walked down the stairs, smiling with satisfaction as her tennis shoes lit up with pink lights as she clomped on each step.

"Kelly step quietly on the stairs please," Shannon called from the kitchen. Kelly smiled, and hurried to the kitchen.

"Good morning Mommy!" She smiled wider when she saw her Daddy standing at the coffee pot filling his cup. "Hi Daddy!"

"Good morning Princess," he said with a smile. Daddy wasn't wearing his uniform today. He was wearing his dress up clothes—brown pants with a light blue shirt with a tie and a coat and his shiny black shoes.

"Mommy will you help me put my hair into a braid please," Kelly asked Shannon. Shannon was cooking…blueberry pancakes? On a school day? Kelly thought that was a little bit weird, but then again she knew Tony and Mommy and Daddy had to go to talk to the judge today, so maybe Mommy wanted to fix them a treat for being brave.

"One second baby girl," Shannon said, flipping two pancakes onto plates.

"Where's Tony?" Kelly wanted to know next, sitting at the bar. Behind her at the kitchen table, Jackson smiled into his coffee cup when he realized Kelly hadn't noticed him yet.

"I think he's probably still asleep," Jethro said. "Actually I had better go wake him up." He left the room and Kelly could hear him running up the stairs. Kelly sat at the bar playing with her hair tie and tapping her hairbrush on the counter.

Shannon glanced at Kelly and smiled, and then glanced at something behind her and smiled. Kelly thought maybe Daddy was back with Tony so she whipped around. It took her a split second to recognize the man sitting at the table.

"GRANDPA!" Kelly squealed, bouncing off the barstool and landing in her grandfather's lap. She hadn't known he was coming—hadn't been expecting him—this was such a phenomenal surprise! She was so happy! "I missed you so much!" She hugged him tightly and he returned the tight embrace.

"I missed you too angel," he said, his soft voice washing over her like waves on the beach. "I have a surprise for you."

"A surprise for me?" Kelly's eyes widened, along with her grin.

"I am going to take you to school this morning…if that's alright with you," Jackson said with a boyish smile.

Kelly whooped and ran to her mother. "MOMMY-MOMMY! Grandpa said he's going to take me to school!" She turned back to her grandfather and ran to him. "Are you going to spend the whole day with me? We will have so much fun!"

Shannon drank a sip of coffee to cover her chuckle. Kelly was so excited. Jethro and a very sleepy Tony appeared in the doorway then, and Kelly ran to them. "GRANDPA IS HERE TONY!"

Tony lifted his head from where he'd plopped it on Jethro's shoulder and looked at his grandpa. Feeling suddenly shy (already overwhelmed by the day) Tony lifted one hand and waved meekly. Jackson smiled and returned the wave. "Hello Tony," he said gently. "My don't you look nice in your outfit!"

Tony smiled shyly and plopped his head back on Jethro's shoulder. Shannon had laid out his clothes for him the night before, and with Jethro's help he'd carefully put on the khaki pants, the light blue button down, and Jethro and Shannon were trying to decide if he needed to wear a tie or not. They'd had a hard enough time getting his braced leg and foot into the dress shoes…they didn't know how much they should force Tony to dress up. Poor kid was nervous enough as it was.

"What do you say Tony," Jethro prodded gently.

"Th-thank you," Tony whispered.

Jackson stood up and walked over to Tony and Jethro. "You both look very nice. Tony are you going to wear a tie today?"

Tony shook his head stubbornly and Jackson could tell this had been a heavily discussed topic for a while now.

Jackson glanced at Jethro. "Why don't you give him one of your ties to wear Leroy?"

Tony raised his head and looked at Jackson like he'd lost his mind. So did Jethro. Jackson laughed and shook his head. "It's simple really, you wear your Daddy's tie Tony? And it's just like getting a hug around your neck from him allllll day long. You should try it."

Tony's eyes widened a bit at the idea of having a hug from his Jethro with him all day…Jethro had told him while he was putting on his clothes that Tony would probably have to go talk to the judge with Miss Anne and Miss Maia. He told Tony that he and Mommy would have to wait outside while he did that. Tony was frightened and unsure of himself, but this idea of Grandpa's…well it might be just the extra encouragement that Tony needed to face today.

"Ok," Tony whispered.

Jethro blinked. "You wanna wear one of my ties?"

Tony nodded and laid his head back down on Jethro's shoulder. Jethro smiled sadly and hugged him. "Ok. Let's eat breakfast and afterwards we'll go find you a tie. How 'bout that?"

Tony smiled and nodded again.

Shannon quickly braided Kelly's hair and the family ate a pleasant, peaceful breakfast. Tony didn't eat much; he was still quite nervous and scared about the day. Jethro didn't eat much for the same reasons. Kelly tore into her pancakes with gusto and Jackson ate a smaller portion with as much fervor as his granddaughter. After breakfast Shannon walked upstairs to finish getting ready. Tony and Jethro had come up stairs a few minutes before and when she went into their bedroom she stopped in the doorway and smiled at what she saw.

Tony was sitting on the edge of their bed staring at Jethro. Jethro was on his knees in front of Tony, lips thin in concentration and eyes on the knot he was making. Tony had selected to wear a royal blue tie with thin gold and red stripes cutting diagonally through the blue. Jethro was tying it so that it would be tight enough to look nice, but loose enough that it wouldn't choke Tony too badly. Satisfied with the knot he'd made, Jethro lowered his hands and smiled at his boy. Tony all but dove into his Jethro's arms, wrapping his arms around his neck and hugging him tightly.

"I wanna always live here," Tony said. "I wanna always stay with you."

"You will son," Jethro whispered. "We always want you with us."

xxx

"C'mon Grandpa come this way! We gotta go to my classroom!" Kelly gently tugged on her grandfather's arm as he walked behind her into the school building. Kelly was adorned with her unicorn backpack and her pink lunchbox that had fairies on it. She was so excited that her grandfather was coming with her to school! She could show him her cubby, and her seat at the table, and where she got to play on the computers too!

Entering the classroom, Kelly dragged Jackson over to the teacher. "Mrs. Maroney look! This is my Grandpa! He came to school with me today!"

Mrs. Maroney smiled and shook Jackson's hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you," she said sweetly. "Are you…Mr. Gibbs' father?"

Jackson smiled and nodded. He and his son didn't look so different from one another. He was a bit thicker around the middle, but his eyes held the same twinkle and the smiles were the same. "I am," he said. "I was wondering if you would mind terribly if I stayed for a few minutes? I'm visiting from Pennsylvania and wanted to see Kelly's classroom."

"That is absolutely fine! We are actually going to have Show and Tell, so you can stay for that if you'd like."

Kelly showed Jackson her cubby and then showed him where her seat at the work tables was. "You can sit here Grandpa," she told him, pulling out a chair next to her own. "That is where Nexie used to sit, but she moved away. Her mommy got stationed somewhere else and they hadda move."

Jackson nodded and sat down. He'd often wondered how the children handled the deployments, the relocations, all of the aspects of military life that were difficult for adults. How did it affect the children? He could see though, that for children like Kelly who had been born into an active military family, it was just part of her world—it was normal for children to move away, normal for there to be empty seats at the work table, or the dinner table. Jackson wondered how Tony would handle it if Leroy found himself deployed again. He'd been deployed a year or two ago and it had taken Kelly some time to adjust, but she'd quickly found her groove and life resumed. He worried that Tony would not transition so flawlessly, and knew that if Leroy deployed again, he would need to make himself more available to both of the children.

For Show and Tell, Kelly decided to show off her Grandpa to all of the kids. "He's visiting all the way from Pennn-sillll-vaaaay-nia," she said dramatically stretching out the name of the state. Jackson chuckled, remembering when Kelly was learning to say it, she'd stretch it out much in the same way she just did.

"He surprised us," Kelly continued. "Even my mommy and daddy didn't know he was coming! It's super exciting!"

"How long is he staying for?" One of the children in the class asked.

Kelly thought for a moment and then looked at her grandfather. "How long ARE you staying, Grandpa?"

Jackson smiled. "At least a week, maybe longer."

Kelly squealed in excitement. This was the best surprise EVER.

xxx

An hour or so later, Jackson looked at his watch. "I have to go now Kelly. I have to go to court with Tony and your parents alright?"

Kelly nodded. She looked up from the math problems she was working and stared at the older man for a long moment. "I wish you could stay with me," she said softly.

Jackson hugged her. "I will come back another day and I will stay the whole day with you. How does that sound? Today I need to go be with your mommy and daddy."

"We're going to lose Tony aren't we," Kelly asked sadly. She looked down at her lap and her fingers fussed nervously with her pencil.

Jackson took a deep breath and felt his chest constricting. "Well what they have to do for now is go talk to the judge and tell him or her about all of the mean things that Tony's father did to him. They have to tell him about how his leg got hurt, all of that stuff. And it will probably get Tony's father into a lot of trouble."

"Are they gonna ground him? Mommy and Daddy ground me when I've been naughty," Kelly said. "And if I've been especially naughty then I get to go to time out too. I don't like time out so much."

Jackson nodded. He could just imagine the trouble that this little girl could cook up and he bit back a chuckle at the thought. "Well Kelly if he gets into as much trouble as we think he might get into, then the judge can make him go to jail. And in jail…it's kind of like being in time out and being grounded. He can't watch tv, or play games, or go outside much. He will have to sit in his cell and think about what he did."

"Yeah," Kelly said. "That sounds a lot like time out. But what if the judge doesn't think his mean-daddy should get into trouble? What if the judge thinks Tony is lying or that Tony was naughty? Will he be put into jail?"

"No sweetheart, Tony isn't going to go to jail at all. He hasn't done anything wrong here, and I'm sure the judge will understand that. Tony was the one who got hurt. He will not get into trouble."

"But what if the judge says that Tony has to give his mean-daddy a second chance? What if the judge says that Tony has to go back and live with his mean-daddy again?"

"_Tony will not be going back to his father, Dad."_

"I don't know baby girl," Jackson said, running a hand over her hair. "I think we'll have to take it one step at a time, and wait and see what happens."

Kelly crossed her arms. "I think if the stupid judge says that Tony has to go back to his mean-daddy that I'm gonna take my Tony and we're going to run away so he doesn't have to go back. I'll protect him. That mean old man doesn't get to hurt him anymore." Kelly's lower lip quivered.

Jackson pulled her into a hug. "We'll figure it out Sweetheart," he said to her. "Your mommy and daddy have everything under control. Don't worry."

There was a knock on the classroom door. Mrs. Maroney smiled at the visitor. "Hi there Mrs. Thomas. What can we do for you?"

Mrs. Thomas was the school secretary. "Is Mr. Gibbs still here?"

Mrs. Maroney nodded and pointed to where Jackson was sitting with Kelly. "Mr. Gibbs you have an urgent phone call in the office. Come with me please!"

Jackson looked at Kelly who looked scared. "I'll be right back," he whispered to her. He kissed her on top of her head and followed the school secretary down the hall. "It's your son," she said, handing him the phone, once they got to the office.

Jackson's gut twisted and he lifted the phone to his ear. "Leroy?"

"_Dad get Kelly and come to LA as fast as you can!"_

"Leroy slow down. Do you want me to meet you at the court house?"

There was a long pause and Jackson could hear his son's ragged breathing. _"No Dad,"_ he moaned into his father's ear. _"Meet us at the Good Samaritan Hospital on Wilshire Blvd."_

"Hospital? Leroy what's happened?"

Jethro's voice cracked when he spoke. _"That sonofabitch,"_ he whispered. _"That sonofabitch hurt my boy. He hurt him Dad. And he's not…we can't…Tony won't wake up,"_ he whispered.

"I'm coming son," Jackson said. "I'll get Kelly and we're coming. You focus on Tony. We'll be there. Sit tight ok?"

"_Hurry…oh Daddy please hurry."_

TBC…


	24. The Trial of Anthony DiNozzo Sr 2

**Special Thanks** to **Mdemeran** for your help with the legal pieces in this chapter! You're awesome! And as always, my most sincere thanks to my wonderful beta, **GotGoats**. Couldn't do it without you dude! Love you pbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbt  
><strong>Warning<strong>**:** I don't think I'm going to make you feel better about the cliffhanger from last chapter…in fact, I'm going to give you the same cliffhanger again—only from a different perspective. **ALSO: VIOLENCE WARNING.**

**Daddy's Boy  
><strong>**Chapter 24: The Trial of Anthony DiNozzo Senior 2**

Brandi Paxton returned home from the jail with a bad feeling. She told Teo about what had happened at the jail and he'd frowned, sharing her negative feeling. It wasn't just about this arrogant man not feeling guilty for his actions. That was part of it, but the young lawyers also couldn't help but feel like Senior was up to something—something was happening and they didn't know what to do, but they had a bad feeling about what was coming up.

Digging through her paperwork, Brandi found the phone number for Judge Sorrells.

"Should I call him tonight?"

Teo nodded. "I would. It's important Brandi. It really seems like this bastard is up to something. You need to let the judge know what's going on so he can alert anybody who needs to know. They need to let the kid's family know—he could potentially be in danger if his father is going to be there. This man is up on child abuse charges…Christ what a mess."

Brandi nodded. "That's what I'm thinking. I need to let them know…I have no way to contact the family, but maybe I can get the judge to let them know…and the ADA. I could call him too."

Teo nodded and handed her the phone. "Do it honey. You gotta sleep tonight. You have to be able to look at yourself in the mirror."

Brandi found the piece of paper that had all the necessary phone numbers on it, and she started dialing.

Across town, Judge Peter Sorrells was just climbing into bed. His wife was already asleep and he was trying to be quiet when the phone rang. He cursed quietly and reached for the phone.

"Hello!"

"Um good evening Your Honor," Brandi said nervously. This judge was tough and if she were honest, he'd always scared the hell out of her.

"Who is this?"

"My name is Brandi Paxton. I'm a public defender—"

"You're on my docket for tomorrow morning."

"That's right sir."

"Why are you calling me tonight and why couldn't it wait until the morning?"

"I'm sorry sir, but I was just contacted by my client, Mr. D—"

"DiNozzo, yes I know, what about it?"

"He fired me sir…he's planning to represent himself."

"Ok and?"

"Sir I think that he has…another…motive…"

"He probably would like to win Miss Paxton."

"Your Honor I am concerned for the child's safety."

"His son, correct?"

"Yes Your Honor."

"I believe that between myself and the court security we will be more than capable of keeping the child safe. I am planning to speak with him in chambers so that he and I can have an…honest conversation."

"Yes Your Honor. I just wanted you to be aware of the situation."

"I will have the court reporter make the necessary changes in the morning."

"You are not going to alert the Assistant District Attorney or the child's guardian family?"

"They will find out soon enough."

Brandi sighed. He wasn't listening. "Yes Your Honor," she said sadly, her voice just above a whisper.

xxx

Tony was quite obviously dragging his feet when it came time to leave to go to the courthouse that morning.

"Come on Tony," Jethro called from the front door where he was waiting with his keys in his hand. "It's time to leave, we can't be late!"

"I's comin'!" Tony called. He moved slowly down the stairs, but was struggling to hold onto the rail and his two books. He'd had a difficult time deciding which books he wanted to bring along for the car ride to court, but had finally selected the two books that Shannon had given him for Christmas.

When he reached the bottom step, Jethro scooped him up and they raced out of the house. Shannon was already in the car, ready to go. She'd made sure to pack several juice boxes and baggies of snacks for Tony to munch on throughout the day. She had a bag that had paper and crayons and other little quiet toys to keep Tony occupied during the long hours they would be in the courtroom today.

Jethro quickly strapped Tony into the backseat and then climbed in the driver's seat. "We ready?"

Shannon and Tony nodded and Jethro backed out of the driveway. "Jethro?" came the quiet voice from the backseat. They had just turned onto the interstate, heading for Los Angeles.

"Yeah Bud?"

"Will I get to come back home with you tonight?"

"Of course you will. Why wouldn't you think you'd be able to do that?"

"Well I's just worrying…I's afraid my m-mean-daddy gonna make me go h-home with him."

"Your father has lots of days in court yet," Jethro said gently. "Even if the judge was to decide that you needed to go live with him—which he won't," he quickly added when he saw the fear in his child's eyes, "That wouldn't happen today. You're going home with us, and we'll take it one day at a time until the trial is over, ok?"

Tony didn't look too terribly reassured by this, but the Gibbses agreed that Tony needed to be well informed about what was going on—even if it was not good news.

The drive to the Los Angeles County Courthouse was mostly quiet. Tony began getting antsy once they got off the highway and started weaving their way through the city. They parked in the parking deck and Jethro helped Tony down from the car. Jethro smiled down at Tony and held his hand. "Ready?"

Tony thought for a moment and shook his head. "No," he said softly. "I's wanna go to the park instead."

Jethro smiled sadly and nodded. "I wanna go to the park too. Maybe this evening we can go ok?"

Tony looked at him for a long moment, and Jethro could see the silent plea in his child's eyes. Tony was silently begging to be taken anywhere but into the courthouse. Tony was silently begging to not be made to face his father, to not be forced to talk about what happened…to be anywhere but here.

Jethro sighed and knelt down. "Jethro we need to go," Shannon urged him softly, checking her watch.

"We're coming," Jethro said. He turned back to Tony. "Scared?" His voice was soft, sympathetic. Tony sniffled and nodded pitifully. His fingers twisted nervously in the necktie he was wearing and his eyes were on his shoes.

Jethro gave him a hug and the child was stiff in his embrace. He pulled back from the hug and looked at his boy. "Tony? Look at Daddy."

Tony slowly looked up at Jethro. Jethro cupped Tony's face in his hands. "I want you to listen," he said softly. "I am so proud of you. You have been so brave and I know this must be so scary for you. But you are doing the right thing—you are going to help us fix it so you can live with us forever. OK?"

Tony looked at Jethro, his eyes filled with fear. "I's drawed a pictures…a poh-leeeceman said that I don't hafta talk and go to court…but now I's do…I's just scared…I's can't tell what my m-mean d-daddy did…H-He a get me if I's tell."

"I don't think your father will be able to do anything to you," Jethro said. "But he might be in the same room with you."

Tony tensed a little more. "I's can't," Tony whined.

Jethro's eyes narrowed. Tony never whined. He never complained. Tony misinterpreted the expression on Gibbs' face as anger. "I's sorry," he whispered. Tears filled his eyes and his voice shook. "I's sorry."

Jethro hugged him again. "I've got you now. You hear? You're MY son. MINE. Your father dumped you out of the car and left you there for me to find. You became MY son the instant I laid eyes on you. You're mine Tony. And I will always protect you. And I will always love you. No matter what happens. Hear me?"

Tony hugged him back and clung onto Jethro's shoulders. Jethro stood up and followed his wife to the stairs, carrying Tony with him. They had to hurry or they would be late.

xxx

To say the Gibbses were surprised when they arrived and found that Senior was representing himself would be an understatement. Jethro was so angry that he nearly got himself arrested for contempt after he yelled at members of the court staff about Senior being allowed to represent himself in the trial. Shannon put her hand on his arm and tried to calm him down but it wasn't working—nothing could calm the protective young father, save only one thing.

A little hand grabbed onto his pants leg and began to tug gently.

Jethro turned around and looked at Tony, stopping mid-rant. Seeing the fear on his child's face, Jethro dropped down to Tony's level. "What's up buddy? You ok?"

"Why you so mad Jethro? Did I do bad?"

Jethro felt immediately sorry for his behavior. He shook his head. "No Tony. You didn't do anything wrong. We just found out that your father is going to be his own lawyer," he explained softly. "That means that he can probably talk to you and ask you questions."

Tony's eyes widened in fear and Shannon ran her fingers through Tony's hair, scratching his scalp very lightly with her fingernails. Tony shivered at the pleasant sensation and looked up at his Shannon. She smiled kindly down at him. "My little Tony," she said softly, "You are going to have to be extra brave! Daddy and I will be in the courtroom with you, and we are so proud of you."

"I wanna go home," Tony whispered. "I don't wanna do this."

"I know angel," she whispered. "You're going to be just fine. It'll all be over soon and then we can go home alright?" Shannon looked up and saw that Anne and Maia were approaching. "Here we go."

xxx

It was a small courtroom. There were small windows lining one wall near the ceiling. Upon entering, the Assistant District Attorney, Jacob Stone, met them. Seeing how angry Jethro and Shannon looked and how frightened Tony looked, Stone knew that they had already been told of the changes. "Judge wants to meet with Tony in chambers."

"How did that sonofabitch manage to be able to represent himself? Is he going to be allowed to question Tony? They shouldn't let him do that—I don't give a damn about a fair trial—I give a damn about fairness to my six year old." Jethro's face was red; he couldn't remember being so angry.

"Mr. Gibbs you have to calm down or they are going to make you leave," Stone said. "Now when Tony goes into chambers, Maia will go with him. The rest of us will wait out here. Tony will be in chambers with the judge and the court reporter and Maia. Everyone else will be out here—including Tony's father. He won't be able to get to him."

"You're sure? You're sure he'll be safe?"

Stone looked at the young father for a long moment. He sighed. "He will be kept as safe as is possible in here," Stone said. "There are always risks, but I can't imagine that anything would happen."

Jethro's eyes narrowed and Shannon put her hand on Jethro's arm. "Jethro," her voice held the same warning tone she got whenever Kelly was about to get herself into trouble. "It's alright," she said soothingly. "We have to be here. We have to. If we leave, they'll take him away from us. It'll be ok," she whispered into his ear.

Jethro nodded. He looked at Tony and smiled. "C'mon Tony," he said, holding out his hand. Tony took his Jethro's hand and followed him up to the long table. Gibbs' gut was churning. It was roiling and burning, and he could not shake the feeling that something horrible was about to happen—something that he had no control over.

xxx

The judge came in and the hearing started. The judge immediately called Tony to join him in chambers. Tony was reluctant to go, and Jethro stood up. "May I walk him to the door, Your Honor?"

Judge Sorrells raised an eyebrow. "I think the child is more than capable of walking on his own."

Tony stood up slowly and his leg wobbled. Jethro reached a steadying hand out to catch him automatically. Tony looked up at Jethro and his eyes filled with tears. Jethro smiled sadly at him. "Go ahead buddy," he whispered, sitting back down. "Judge wants you to go by yourself. We'll be right here when you come back."

Tony took a shaky breath and nodded. His first step, his leg wobbled again and Tony reached out and grabbed the table to steady himself. Stress caused his leg muscles to tense, and with a leg that didn't work well on good days, today the leg was all but refusing to hold him up. "I's coming," Tony whispered. He wobbled a couple of more times, and the judge understood why Jethro wanted to help him. He felt a bit like an ass for not letting the child's guardian assist him, but this was also good for him to see. The child obviously had some sort of deformity with his leg.

They reached the judge's chambers and Tony breathed a sigh of relief. Maia was with him, and the court reporter was there with her stenograph.

The judge took off his robe and sat down in his chair. Tony stood in front of the judge's desk, not knowing what he was supposed to be doing.

"Would you like to sit down," the judge asked gently. His stern tone of voice was gone, and in its place was a nice, aging man. He was very different than he'd been out in the courtroom and this only confused Tony more.

"Ok," Tony said softly. He wobbled again as he turned to move to the chair.

"Now then Tony," Judge Sorrells said once Tony was sitting in the chair. "Do you mind if I call you Tony?"

Tony shook his head. "I don't mind," he whispered.

"Tony before we begin I have to check to make sure you understand what it means to tell the truth. I have to make sure you understand what you're saying and what it means. Alright?"

"How you gonna do that? Will it hurt?" Poor Tony had been to see so many doctors and therapists and talked to so many police officers, he had no idea what to expect from anybody anymore. Some people hurt, others didn't, some were nice, others weren't. It was all very confusing.

"Won't hurt a bit," the judge said kindly. "I'm going to ask you some questions, that's all. Once we finish this first part, then we'll talk about what you saw when you lived with your father and mother. Ok?"

Tony nodded. "Ok," he whispered. He glanced at Maia who gave him an encouraging smile.

The judge leaned back in his chair a bit. "Tony do you know who I am?"

Tony looked at him curiously. "You the judge," he said softly.

Sorrells nodded. "Do you know why you're here?"

Tony's eyes dropped to his lap and he folded his hands politely and placed them on his legs. "Yes sir," he whispered.

"Tony," Judge Sorrells said gently, "You see Lucy here?" he indicated the court reporter. Tony nodded. "Lucy has to write down everything we say, ok? It's important we talk loud enough for her to hear us."

"Ok," Tony said, a bit louder. The judge smiled. "Good. Now, do you know why you're here?"

Tony nodded. "Yes sir."

"Can you tell me?"

"I-I's here…a-a cause I seen my m-mea—my father h-hurted my m-mother," Tony said quietly, his eyes on his lap. "A-and a-a cause he hurted me too."

"Do you know what it means to tell the truth Tony?"

Tony's eyes shot up at this question, wondering if the judge thought he was lying.

"Y-yes I's know," Tony replied.

Judge Sorrells nodded. He indicated out the large window at the cloudless blue sky. "Look outside Tony. If I were to tell you that the sky today is red, would that be the truth or a lie?"

Tony stared at the judge like he was nuts. He was glad he'd learned his colors. "A lie," Tony said softly. "A sky is blue."

"Even if I told you that you should tell me the sky was red?"

Tony was confused. Why were they talking about the sky? He shook his head. "No a sky is blue," he said. "It not red."

The judge nodded. He glanced at Maia and Lucy and nodded at each of them. "Very good Tony," he said with a gentle smile. Something about him reminded Tony of Grandpa. He missed Grandpa. He wanted to go home and sit on Grandpa's lap and listen to him tell stories. "Now I would like you to tell me what happened to your leg…"

And so, with only three sets of ears to hear his tale, Tony began to speak softly in the quiet office.

xxx

In the courtroom, Jethro bounced his leg nervously and tapped his hand on his knee. Shannon sat calmly, trying to think only positive thoughts, and tried to think of things to distract her from how much time was passing. What should she make for dinner? She needed to do a load of dark clothes in the laundry tonight and needed to clean Jethro's uniform. She glanced at her watch. Tony hadn't been back there very long. She wondered how long the judge would talk to him, and she really hoped more than anything that the judge was being nicer to Tony in his chambers than he'd been to Tony and Jethro in the courtroom.

Senior was tapping his pen nervously on the pad of paper in front of him. He was irritated that he'd not been permitted to sit in on the discussion with Tony and the judge. He wondered what the little spawn was telling the judge—what sorts of lies was he dreaming up to share? Senior glanced surreptitiously around the courtroom. There were two bailiffs…one at each door. He figured that Tony would come out of the same door he'd gone into.

A feeling of desperate fear began to build in Senior's gut. He couldn't shake the feeling that it was all about to fall apart. He'd been worried about that stupid public defender so-called lawyer losing his case for him, but in all honesty, it looked as though his case would be lost before it was even started.

One thing he knew for sure, Tony would be punished. He'd promised the child from the very beginning that if he ever told anyone anything about what happened in their home that he would be severely punished. He'd threatened Tony with thoughts of others not believing him, of others not caring, of people thinking he was causing trouble, of him getting into trouble with the police…a whole gamut of threats.

They'd not taken his child away from him yet. As far as he was concerned he still felt he was within his legal right to teach the little shit a lesson he would never forget.

With a plan forming in his head, Senior settled back in his chair. He'd have only one shot to make his plan work. He glanced over at the sonofabitch who had taken his child away. With any luck he'd be able to make him pay too.

xxx

Jethro immediately perked up when the door opened on the side of the room. Maia came into the room, followed closely by the court reporter. Tony was coming in behind them, letting them walk ahead because his stiffened leg was requiring him to move slowly and carefully. Jethro offered Tony a smile of encouragement and Tony returned the smile.

Jethro saw a flash out of the corner of his eye, even as his ears registered the shout of surprise. He had one split second to look up and see Senior, holding the gun that belonged to the bailiff standing closest to him. The bailiff was struggling, trying to get the weapon away from Senior, but Senior managed to shrug the large man off of him.

Senior raised the gun…and smiled.

The sound of the gunshot echoed through the room, along with the startled yelp from the little boy returning to his seat. He heard the other bailiff yell "SHOOTER!" and he dove on top of Tony in an effort to shield him from the gun. Another shot fired and this time there were no shouts accompanying the sound.

Shannon had hit her knees the instant the first shot sounded and was crawling under the table, trying to get to Tony and the other bailiff. Jethro hit the floor next to her and looked out from under the table.

Tony was lying on the floor. He was on his back, and from what Jethro could see his eyes were closed. There was blood though…Jethro couldn't tell where it was coming from. He waited another second until he was sure that there would be no more shots fired.

The other bailiff had picked himself up off of the floor where Senior had shoved him and had slammed his full weight into Senior's back. It had knocked him dreadfully off balance, and in the ensuing scuffle the gun hit the floor and slid out of Senior's reach. Almost immediately, the bailiff, along with several other officers, were hard at work, getting Senior into handcuffs and getting him under control. The gun was on the floor where it had been knocked from Senior's hand.

Jethro and Shannon crawled over to where the bailiff guarding Tony was lying, and Tony was lying under him. Neither of them were moving.

"Tony! Ohmygod Tony! Baby can you hear me? Tony?" Jethro crawled desperately toward his child—and Tony was _his child._ Shannon was right next to him. It was quickly obvious that the bailiff was dead. One of the shots had hit him in the side of his neck…the bullet must have hit one of the large blood vessels there because there was blood everywhere and there was no longer a pulse. The bailiff had bled out before anyone could get to him to help him.

As gently as they could, Jethro and Shannon carefully rolled the bailiff off of their child. Jethro had some medical training from his work with the Marines, and Shannon's nurse training kicked in and she immediately began taking control of the situation. She scooted back under the table and reached for the bag she'd brought with her—it had a small baggie of baby wipes in it—perfect for sticky fingers, and in this case, perfect for gently wiping away blood and looking for bullet wounds.

Jethro was on his knees in front of Tony, checking his pulse. Tony's pulse was strong, his breathing was a bit shallow, but was even and regular. Shannon reappeared at his side and took a baby wipe and began very gently cleaning off the blood on their child's face, looking for the site of the injury. Had he been shot? If he'd been shot in the head, shouldn't he be dead? What had happened?

Shannon wiped from one spot—on Tony's temple—and they both gasped. It looked like he had, in fact, been shot in the head…the bullet had dug quite a trench through his little face…had nearly shot him in the eye from the looks of it…

"Ohhhkay," Shannon murmured gently, steeling herself, and forcing herself to remain calm. Her child depended on her to hold it together.

"What do you want me to do Shan?" Jethro was sitting at Shannon's left elbow, waiting for instructions.

A cop ran up behind them. "Paramedics are on the way. Ma'am are you a medical professional?"

"I'm an Intensive Care Unit Nurse," Shannon said. "Tony's been shot near his right eye…tell the paramedics to get a pediatric opthamologist on standby at Good Samaritan," she ordered firmly.

She glanced to her left and saw her husband. He looked so lost. She took his hand, even as she kept a light even pressure on Tony's head.

"Jethro," she said softly.

He didn't respond. She squeezed his hand. God help them all if Tony didn't survive.

"Jethro," she said a bit louder.

Her husband blinked and looked at her.

"Hey baby you with me?" Shannon's voice was gentle. Jethro nodded and turned his gaze back to Tony…he was so still…and God…under the blood he was so pale…his poor Tony… "Jethro!" A sharp voice snapped him back to reality. He looked at his wife.

"You need to call Jackson," she said gently. "You need to call him at Kelly's school and see if he's left yet. We need to tell him to meet us at the hospital."

"Yeah. Yeah ok," Jethro said softly, his voice shaking in fear. Anne finally made her way through the growing crowd and handed him her cell phone. Maia dropped to her knees next to Tony's head. She glanced up and saw Judge Sorrells approaching the bailiff who was lying near Tony.

The judge carefully checked the bailiff, realizing that Tony's guardians had checked him before, but knowing he needed to feel the lack of pulse for himself. He smiled sadly down at the younger man. Phillip was his name. His family would need to be notified. This man died a hero. He died protecting a child.

"Is Tony alright," Sorrells asked softly.

Shannon nodded. "His pulse is strong, and his breathing is steady," she said. "I don't have anything here to check his blood pressure or anything, and I'm not going to mess with his eye too much to check his pupil responses. It doesn't look like the bullet penetrated, but it's one hell of a graze," she said.

"Shannon," Maia said softly. "Jethro." When they both looked at her she offered them a gentle smile. "You should be very proud of your Tony," she said softly. "He was so brave in the chambers. He told his story—told the judge everything he's ever told us. He talked about the pictures he drew, the abuse he suffered, the night his mother died, all of it. He didn't leave anything out. I am so proud of him."

Jethro took an uneven breath. Was it all for nothing? Was there any reason for this fighting to be happening? Tony had begged—BEGGED—Jethro to not make him go to court today. Had he known something was going to happen? Had he sensed it ahead of time?

"He begged me to let him stay home today," Jethro whispered, reaching forward and untying the tie from his son's neck. "I told him he didn't have a choice. He wanted to go to the park. I told him…I told him we'd go tonight…oh God what if he…what if he doesn't make it?"

A gentle headslap rocked him forward slightly. Shannon was looking at him. She put her bloody hands on his face and she looked him in the eye. "I know you are scared," she said softly. "I'm scared too. But Tony is _not_ dead. He's _alive._ And right now he needs you more than he has _ever_ needed you. You need to call your father, and you need to get him to collect Kelly and come up here. Tony needs for us to hold it together Jethro." She hugged him and he returned the slightly desperate feeling embrace.

He finally pulled away and nodded. Using the phone Anne had handed to him, he dialed information and got the number to Kelly's school. He asked the operator to connect the call and a moment later there was a phone ringing in his ears. He told the secretary who he was and who he needed to speak to.

"He's volunteering in my daughter, Kelly Gibbs', class this morning. I don't know if he's still there or not."

"If you will hold for just a few moments Mr. Gibbs. I will walk to the classroom and see if he is still there. We aren't supposed to use the intercom system during instruction time."

"Ok," Jethro said softly. "But it's an emergency, please hurry."

"Please hold," Mrs. Thomas said again. There was a pause that seemed like it lasted for an eternity. Finally the phone beeped and his father was on the line.

"_Leroy?"_

"Dad get Kelly and come to LA as fast as you can!"

"_Leroy slow down. Do you want me to meet you at the court house?"_

Jethro looked around. The EMTs had arrived and were carefully wrapping Tony's head in a thick bandage, and had put a collar around his neck to hold his head in position as they travelled. "No Dad," he moaned into his father's ear. "Meet us at the Good Samaritan Hospital on Wilshire Blvd."

"_Hospital? Leroy what's happened?"_

How could he explain what had happened? How could he explain that because he'd refused to listen to his boy…his boy was…now he was on the ground…and he was bleeding…and his precious little eye was hurt… "That sonofabitch," he whispered, his voice cracking. "That sonofabitch hurt my boy. He hurt him Dad. And he's not…we can't…Tony won't wake up."

"_I'm coming son,"_ Jackson said_. "I'll get Kelly and we're coming. You focus on Tony. We'll be there. Sit tight ok?"_

He hadn't told him…hadn't told him everything…would Tony still be alive when Jackson and Kelly got there?

"Hurry," he whispered. "Oh Daddy please hurry."

TBC…


	25. Hospital 1

**Big Thanks** to my wonderful beta and good buddy **Gotgoats** for your help with this story—and for keeping me motivated *rubs spot where pitchfork poked me*—you rock baby! Love you! **Big Thanks** also to **Mdemeran** for your help with the legal aspects of this chapter.  
><strong>Author's Note:<strong> All the previous warnings may apply…I don't work in the legal or medical professions, so my story is based on information I could get from asking people questions, and asking google.

_**Also…folks I am so amazed and overwhelmed, honored and flattered at the HUGE response this story has received. I appreciate everyone who has favorite, commented, alerted, PMed, or just read quietly to themselves. I hope you are having as much fun as I am. **__**Now on with the show…**_

**Daddy's Boy  
><strong>**Chapter 25: Hospital 1**

Because of Shannon's medical background, the EMTs allowed her to ride along in the ambulance transporting Tony to the hospital. His blood pressure was a bit erratic, and his pupil responses were uneven. None of this was surprising to the medical professionals already providing care to Tony, but to Jethro…to Jethro it was all very scary.

Shannon put her hands—blood covered—on her husband's shoulder. "Listen honey," she said softly, but there was iron in her voice. She was trying to keep him calm, but also herself. "I'm going to ride with them. You bring the car. Jackson is getting Kelly and they will be on their way. It's going to be alright. We're all together. We're all going to be alright. Ok?"

Jethro nodded, unable to take his gaze off of his child. His head was heavily bandaged with a padded wrap and he was being strapped onto a stretcher.

Judge Sorrell appeared next to the Gibbses. "He isn't driving. He can't. I'll get one of the officers to drive him to the hospital."

"We'll need our car! We can't le—"

"Mr. Gibbs. I cannot with good conscience let you drive. You're in shock. It's alright. If you don't want one of the officers to drive you, then I can take you myself."

A police officer approached them from behind. "I will take you to the hospital Mr. Gibbs. I can run code all the way there—lights and sirens all the way. We will make sure you get to your boy as soon as possible."

"Go with him Jethro. I'll stay with Tony. Go with him."

Jethro nodded, but moved to Tony's side instead. He leaned over and placed the softest of kisses to the unresponsive child's forehead, and whispered softly in his ear. "Daddy loves you. You're going to be fine. You will not die." He took a shaky breath and looked at his wife. "Don't leave him Shannon…please…he'll be so scared…please don't leave him."

Shannon kissed him softly. "I won't leave him. I promise."

Jethro stood in the courtroom watching as half of his family hurried off to the waiting ambulance. He looked down and realized he was covered in blood. Tony's blood. He looked up at the officer.

"Come with me Mr. Gibbs. We'll go find your boy."

xxx

Judge Sorrells looked around the courtroom. As quickly as everything had gone bad, it felt like it had taken an eternity to get the situation back under control, and then suddenly the excitement was over, and the room was empty.

The judge sank into his chair and covered his eyes with one hand. He thought back over the child's testimony in his office just moments ago. He thought about the horror this child had faced, and the bravery it must have taken for him to share his story truthfully with these strangers. Sorrells wondered if there had been any indication that this could have happened…any forewarning that he'd somehow missed or not noticed…could he have done anything differently to prevent today's events?

It struck him then. The phone call he had received the night before. The lawyer—the little rookie public defender…she'd called him, concerned—not because she'd been fired—but because she had a feeling that Anthony DiNozzo Senior might be up to no good, and he might have some idea of some way to change the outcome of the trial by representing himself. He'd blown her off. He hadn't listened to her; instead he had growled at her and insulted her intelligence.

"Oh God," he whispered, the full weight of the day's guilt settling on him. "God forgive me…please forgive me…and please let this little child live…"

He put his head in his hands and wept.

xxx

Brandi Paxton sat in the bullpen area where her desk was located and thumped her pencil on her desk. She had a bad feeling. She glanced across the room at Teo whose brow was furrowed in concentration as he read over a case file. She startled when her phone suddenly rang. As she reached for it, her eyes drifted to the television screen where TV reporters were gathering outside of the LA County Courthouse offering interviews, speculation, gossip, and asking questions of passersby about the shooting that had taken place in the courthouse this morning.

Shooting? In the courthouse?

"Brandi Paxton," she answered the phone.

"_Miss Paxton. Judge Sorrells,"_ came the voice on the other end.

Brandi's stomach twisted. "H-Hello Your Honor," she said softly. "What can I do for you?"

"_I actually called needing to talk with you. I need to apologize."_

Brandi blinked. "Apologize? What for?" She spat the questions out before she thought better of it.

"_I…I treated you badly last night on the phone, and this morning…let me back up. Last night when you met with Mr. DiNozzo did he give you any indication that he had something in mind for this morning?"_

Brandi blinked. "He only said he didn't like the way I was handling his case. He fired me," she said, waving her arm at Teo, catching his attention. She motioned for him to come over to her desk. She was scribbling furiously on the pad in front of her.

_Judge on phone. Apologizing. Asking about last night._

Teo blinked. He looked up at the television and saw the breaking news story at the courthouse. He touched Brandi's shoulder and pointed at the TV. Brandi's eyes rounded at the headline:

_Child Shot During Abuse Trial._

"Your Honor, I'm just seeing a news report on the local station," Brandi said, "speaking of a child being shot at the courthouse this morning."

"_Yes."_

"Was it…?"

"_Yes. The entire room witnessed it. He shot one of the bailiffs and killed him. He also shot his son."_

Brandi gasped and a hand covered her mouth. She took a long breath, trying to calm down, but it didn't help. "Is he?"

"_He's being taken to the hospital now. They think there's some damage to his eye. He was shot in the head. Mr. DiNozzo got the gun off of one of our bailiffs and used it to shoot the other bailiff and Little Tony DiNozzo when they were returning from my chambers after Tony gave us his testimony."_

"Ohmygod," Brandi whispered. "Is he still alive?"

"_Yes. His foster mother is a nurse and she said it looks like the bullet grazed him. She and the paramedics seemed to think it did some damage to his eye. Miss Paxton the reason I am calling, like I said, is because I need to apologize to you. I treated you badly, insulted your intelligence, and was too inconvenienced by the phone call at the late hour…I didn't listen to you and I should have."_

"Thank you, Your Honor," Brandi said softly. "I hope the child will be alright."

"His name is Tony, Miss Paxton. And I hope so too."

xxx

Brandi hung up the phone with the judge and turned to look at her boyfriend with huge eyes. "What is it Honey? What'd the judge say?"

Brandi shook her head in disbelief. "You remember last night…DiNozzo fired me from his case…I knew that he must be up to something…"

"What happened Brandi? Was he involved in the shooting this morning at the courthouse?"

Brandi stared at Teo and nodded. "He got the gun off of one of the bailiffs…and he…oh God Teo he shot the other bailiff…killed him…and he…he shot…I'm going to be sick," she bit out and stood, running for the restroom.

The other PDs looked up as Brandi raced from the office, one hand clamped over her mouth. Teo shrugged sadly, "Tough case," he said.

A few moments later, Brandi staggered out of the restroom looking surprisingly haggard and decidedly pale. Teo rushed to her side. "Brandi what is it? What's happened?"

Brandi looked at her fiancé and tears filled her eyes. "I should have done more," she whispered. "Mr. DiNozzo…he…he shot his own child in the head in the middle of the courtroom this morning…I knew he was up to something…I should have made the judge listen, I should have done more…I could have stopped this," she mourned.

Teo pulled her into a tight hug. "No honey. You did everything you could—everything you were supposed to do. You told the judge. He chose not to listen. This is on him, not you. Is the kid ok?"

Brandi wiped her nose with a soggy, wadded up tissue and groaned. "He got shot in the head. The bullet grazed his head…and they think there's some damage to his eye…The judge…the judge apologized…he said he was wrong…he should have listened…I knew that DiNozzo was up to no good…that arrogant bastard," she murmured, "why didn't I tell someone…wait…How did he even get deemed competent to stand trial?" She looked up at Teo.

Teo's eyes widened. "Why don't we find out," he said, picking up her phone and dialing.

Brandi watched Teo's face for any indication of what had happened. A few moments later he hung up the phone, his face a mask of disbelief. Brandi shook his arm. "What? What did they say?"

"There was no competency hearing. The court's docket is so backed up and clogged right now, that they only did a brief interview with DiNozzo this morning before the trial started. Whoever did the interview decided it'd be ok for him to be let off his leash and into the courtroom without an attorney."

Brandi rubbed her forehead, feeling a headache starting. She sighed and looked at Teo. "Do we know which hospital?"

"According to the news it says Good Samaritan. Makes sense…it's closest to the courthouse."

Brandi picked up her keys. "I'll be back," she said softly. "I'm taking an early lunch."

"Brandi wait. I mean…they're probably still in Emergency," Teo reasoned, "Why don't you wait until this evening and I will go with you? Then you don't have to go alone and it'll give everyone a chance to get settled. OK?"

Brandi looked at him for a long moment. He was such a sweet hearted person. She didn't know why she felt the need to go see this little boy, but she did need it. She needed to look his guardians in the face and tell them how sorry she was. Teo would be good to have close by when she did this. He was laid back enough to keep everyone around him on an even keel. Yes, that would be best.

"Ok," she whispered.

xxx

Kelly had been frightened by the sudden way Grandpa had rushed back into the room, told Mrs. Maroney that he and Kelly needed to go, and then murmured into her ear what had happened. She gasped and covered her mouth with her hand, shaking her head slightly in horror. "Go," she whispered. "Be in touch, but do what you need to do for him, absolutely."

Jackson thanked her and turned to Kelly. "We have to hurry Princess," he said gently, his voice not masking his concern at all. "We have to go to Los Angeles and see Tony and Mommy and Daddy."

"I thought they were in court."

"They were, but something has happened and we have to go to them now. Your mommy and daddy need your help."

Kelly froze in her tracks. "My help? What can I do? Am I going to be in trouble?"

By now they were in the parking lot and Jackson lifted her into the car. "Not at all my dear," he said with a kind smile. "But Mommy and Daddy are going to need some hugs and love this afternoon ok?"

"Grandpa is Tony ok?" Kelly's gut was almost as astute as her father's.

"I don't know baby girl," he whispered, pulling out in traffic. He glanced at his granddaughter in the rearview mirror and took in the horrified expression on her face. "I just don't know."

xxx

Jethro was pacing like a caged animal in the emergency waiting room when Shannon came out looking for him. He rushed to her and they embraced, both of them needing the reassurance that they were together.

"Is he…Is Tony?"

"The doctor is with him," Shannon said. "They asked me to come wait out here with you. Dr. Kristopher is the opthamologist on call today. He's in with Tony now. They're going to do some scans and see what they can learn about the damage the bullet did."

Jethro sank bonelessly into a chair. "I should have listened to him," he whispered. "Tony begged me to not go to court…I should have talked to Maia…to Anne…someone should have done something," he said. "And I told him he'd be safe—told him that no one would hurt him while he was in there. That he just needed to be brave and share his story and that the people in the courtroom would keep him safe. That _I _would keep him safe."

"Jethro you've got to stop this honey," Shannon's voice was firm, but sympathetic. "You can't beat yourself up for this. Tony had orders to go to court—he wasn't given an option, and if we'd refused to bring him, we'd be held in contempt. You know that. We have to play by their rules. You know that. And there's nothing you could have done here. The bailiff standing right with him wasn't even able to fully protect him."

"I should have tried," he whispered.

"Shannon?"

The young mother turned and looked at the man standing in the doorway.

"Dr. Kristopher! Is Tony going to be alright?"

The doctor's face was serious, but he nodded. "Come with me," he said gently. "You and your husband both. We need to talk."

Jethro and Shannon followed the doctor down the hall to one of the private family waiting rooms. Dr. Kristopher closed the door behind them and sat down.

"Is Tony ok?" Jethro's voice was soft, ragged, tired sounding.

"He's got a pretty severe concussion, but is responding to outside stimuli. We performed an MRI and we're carefully monitoring his brain function using an EEG and we are keeping an eye on his intracranial pressure using an ICP monitor to make sure that he isn't experiencing any dangerous levels of swelling in his brain."

"What type of ICP monitor are you using?" Shannon wanted to know. Jethro was completely lost. What the hell was an ICP monitor?

"We went with an intraventricular catheter. It was the simplest way for us to monitor the pressure in his brain. It will give us up to date current readings that will be helpful for us to treat him more effectively."

"What about his eye?" Shannon's voice was calm, she understood that all of this was routine, but she was still nervous.

Dr. Kristopher took a deep breath. "We've done some x-rays, and we did a B-Scan Ocular Ultrasound to examine his eye carefully. He has a detached retina. I would like to use the scleral buckle method to repair it. A minor operation."

Shannon let out a long breath and nodded. "Okay," she said, sounding relieved.

Jethro looked ready to pounce something. "Can someone explain this to me in English please?"

Dr. Kristopher started to speak but Shannon cut him off. "They're looking to see if his brain is swelling and they're using some monitoring devices to measure his progress and look for damage in his eye. He has a detached retina, and that needs fixing with minor surgery."

Jethro looked at the doctor. "Why didn't you just say that?"

Dr. Kristopher smiled. "I did. I just…used more…technical words."

Jethro nodded, "Uh huh, can I see my boy now?"

"Yes. We have him sedated for now so we can prep him for surgery and not cause him any undue pain or discomfort. But you may visit with him for several minutes."

xxx

Shannon put her hand on Jethro's arm as they started into the cubicle. "Jethro…you need to know before we go in…the intraventricular catheter…they put it into Tony's head. There will be a small hole in his forehead, near his hairline. And his eye was all bandaged up when I left him…he looks bad honey. You just need to know that going in. But he's ok—he's holding his own and he's strong. He's breathing on his own and his vitals are strong. He's not going to give up. He's going to be ok."

Jethro stared at Shannon like she'd grown another head for a long moment. Finally he nodded. "I can handle it," he said quietly.

Shannon kissed him lightly on the cheek. "I know you can. Come on," she took his hand.

They were better together. They could do this.

xxx

Jethro was glad Shannon had warned him. Tony's little head was swathed in bloody bandages, and there was heavy padding covering his right eye. His face was almost as pale as the pillow his head lay on. He was breathing on his own, slow and even, peaceful. The young father approached his son's bedside and looked him over from head to toe.

Mindful of the IV in the back of his little hand, Jethro very carefully lifted Tony's hand into his much larger one.

"Hey Little One," Jethro said softly. He brushed his fingers over the back of Tony's uncovered cheek. Shannon stood back and gave the father a moment alone with his son. She picked up Tony's chart and began reading over it.

"Daddy loves you," Jethro said quietly. "And so does Mommy and Kelly and Grandpa and Grandma…we all love you so much. And right now you…" he took a shuddering breath, "right now you just need to rest so your head can feel better. And the doctor is going to fix your eye and make sure your head and your brain are ok. And we're gonna be right here with you the whole time. We love you so much sweet boy. So much."

Jethro leaned down and kissed Tony on the cheek. Tony was sedated and didn't respond. Jethro stood back up and looked down at his littlest for another moment and then gave his hand another squeeze.

After a few minutes, Shannon came over and smiled sadly down at Tony. "You were such a big, brave boy today, Sweetheart," she said softly. "We are so proud of you. I'm so sorry that you got hurt, but you are going to be just fine, and your daddy and I are going to take very good care of you. You're safe now. You're safe." She leaned over the bed and rubbed her nose against Tony's very softly, just as she did every night before the little one went to sleep. "I love you angel," Shannon whispered. "We'll be right with you when you wake up."

A nurse came in and nodded at the young parents. "He's ready to go now," she said.

Jethro and Shannon each kissed Tony one last time and then stepped back from the bed. Their hands joined as they watched their child's bed roll away. Shortly after Tony left, another nurse came to the room and she directed Shannon and Jethro to the surgery waiting area to await news on Tony. They hadn't been there long when an urgent "MOMMY! DADDY!" echoed through the room. The young parents turned, and smiled in relief when they saw their oldest running in their direction.

"Why are we at the hospital?" Kelly worried, crawling up into her mother's lap. She hugged her and then laid her head on her shoulder. She looked around. "Where's Tony?"

"He's having surgery Sweetheart," Shannon said softly. "The doctor is helping him."

"What's surgery? Do I have to have one too?"

Shannon smiled. "Sometimes doctors have to fix something on our insides. That's surgery. And no, you aren't having surgery today. I hope you never have to have surgery."

"Why's Tony gotta have surgery?"

"Oh honey he has to have it because his father hurt him. The doctor has to fix his eye."

"What did his father do to his eye?"

"He hurt Tony, Kelly. With a gun," Jethro said softly, his voice almost choking in his throat.

Kelly's eyes filled with tears. "Is Tony going to die? Is he going to go to heaven and leave us?"

Shannon hugged her daughter tightly. "No honey. Tony's going to be ok. He's going to be just fine."

Jackson rubbed a hand over his face. This was horrible. He looked at Jethro. His boy's expression was a mixture of desolation, fear, and a murderous anger. Shannon looked to be near the end of her rope, but she was trying to hold it together for everyone else.

Jackson walked to the phone on the table by the door and pulled out his wallet, digging for one particular business card. Finding the number he was searching for, he dialed and listened to the phone ring.

xxx

JoAnne Fielding stood in front of the finance committee that she was making her presentation to and she smiled confidently. She had this in the bag, she just knew it. She clicked the remote in her hand to cue up the next piece of her presentation and there was a knock at the conference room door. She stopped speaking when a young woman poked her head in the door.

"I'm sorry to interrupt you Ms. Fielding," the receptionist said contritely. "But you have a phone call on line three."

"Please take a message! I'm in the mid—"

"I'm sorry ma'am but Mr. Gibbs said that it was a family medical emergency and he would not accept leaving a message. He insisted he speak with you."

Mr. Gibbs. Which Mr. Gibbs? Was it Jethro? Was there news about the trial? She didn't think it would be Jackson—why on earth would he call her? And at work? Unless something was wrong…

"Please excuse me," she said to her audience. They nodded understandingly. They wanted this deal as badly as she did—they would forgive a phone call, especially one that sounded so important.

"This is JoAnne!" she snapped into the phone. But it was obvious she wasn't angry. She was scared.

She was quiet for a moment and the people in the room watched as the color drained from JoAnne's face. After listening for a few minutes to the speaker, she spoke softly. "Ok. Ok I'm coming. Next flight out. Ok. I'll call you and let you know when I land."

JoAnne hung up the phone. "I'm sorry," she whispered, shaking her head in disbelief at what she'd just been told. "I'm sorry. I have to go to California. I have to go."

Without another word or further explanation she turned and ran from the room.

An hour later, JoAnne was seated in the first class section of a Delta flight bound for California. She didn't usually choose to fly with Delta, but they had the first available flight to LA and time was precious. Her babies needed her—all of them.

As the plane ascended into the mid-afternoon sky, JoAnne leaned her head back against the seat and closed her eyes. "Hold on," she whispered. "Grandma's coming."

TBC…


	26. Hospital 2

_Thanks to my wonderful friend and beta reader Gotgoats. You're amazing! I love you tons and bunches!  
><em>_**Warning: Angst, hospital-ish stuff, and an angry Jethro. He's in full on papa-bear mode now, so brace yourselves.**_

**Daddy's Boy  
><strong>**Chapter 26: Hospital 2**

The afternoon had faded into a hood of clouds and drizzle. Thunder rumbled in the distance and in the west you could almost see the yellow sky surrounding the setting sun beneath the cloud cover. There was humidity on the windows, fogged from the rain outside mixed with the cool air inside the hospital. The walls were painted a drab beige and there were nondescript paintings of purple flowers and farmhouses on the wall. A television murmured in the background and there was a vinyl sea green colored arm chair in one corner near the window. It would recline if you pushed back on it just right. A heart monitor beeped quietly, steadily near the bed, and the quiet pulse of the EEG and the soft whoosh of the ICP monitors were the only other sounds in the room.

In the bed, lay a small boy. His right hand had an IV attached to it, and in his left arm was tucked a small blue stuffed octopus. The child's head was swathed in bandages and his right eye was covered behind a thick bandage. He was asleep, groggy after his surgery earlier in the day. The doctors were hopeful that he would recover fully; there would be no brain damage from his injury. No physical debilitation because of the damage done to the bones around his eye.

They wouldn't know about his vision until the bandages came off.

Next to the bed, close by in case the child opened his eyes, was the boy's guardian. He wasn't the little boy's daddy yet, but that was merely a technicality as far as he was concerned. A cup of coffee was clad by an iron fisted grip, and the young man's lips were set into a firm line. He paced and stared at the wall, stared at his child, stared out the window. He listened to the beeps and whooshes of the machines and he tried to reassure him that they were all positive sounds. They were the music of life and the song of a child who was still alive for him to hold, love, hug, and raise as his own son.

Leroy Jethro Gibbs was furious.

Tony's family had received word that afternoon that Senior was being relocated to the maximum security unit at the state prison while he waited for his trial to be rescheduled. Once Tony had come out of surgery and was moved to recovery, every one of the Gibbses let out a sigh of relief. Jethro and Shannon had decided that it was too soon for Kelly to see her soon-to-be-brother, and once Jackson explained that he'd phoned JoAnne, he, Shannon, and Kelly made plans to go get Grandma from the airport.

JoAnne's plane had landed half an hour ago. The other three had left a little over an hour ago to get her. Jethro and Shannon decided it would be better for Kelly if one of them was at home with her that night. Jethro was fighting his internal feelings of guilt, and felt that he would be of more use if he stayed at the hospital with Tony. He had an insatiable urge to protect the child; though there was no one left to harm him. Senior couldn't get to him, and his mother was dead. Shannon would go home with Kelly and the parents, and they would return tomorrow. Tony would be more awake by then, and Kelly could visit with him in his hospital room.

Shannon had phoned Kelly's teacher that afternoon and had provided her with more information about the situation and had wondered if it would be alright for Kelly to miss a couple of days of school. The teacher was hugely supportive of Kelly being with her family, and told Shannon she would get her daughter's homework together for her, and one of them could swing by and pick it up so she wouldn't fall too far behind during her absence.

Jethro couldn't shake the guilt he felt over the whole ordeal. Anne, Maia, Shannon, Judge Sorrells, Jacob Stone—everyone involved had told him that he was not to blame for what happened. But the fact remained that he had promised Tony that Senior wouldn't hurt him anymore, and that promise had gotten broken nearly in the worst way imaginable. If the bullet had hit even an inch farther to the left…

The young father took a sip of coffee, reached the twelfth tile in his path, turned, and started walking back the other way. He would not think of what might have happened. Of what _almost _happened.

Next time he'd just kill the bastard himself and be done with it. Consequences be damned.

Senior would not hurt Tony ever again.

xxx

The entire city was in an uproar over the shooting in the courthouse. It wasn't bad enough that there had been a shooting, and that a peace officer was killed. There was a _child_ in the courthouse who was shot by his own father during the man's trial for murder and child abuse. This was newsworthy—the story of the decade! The hospital had finally cordoned off the floor that Tony was staying on, barring all reporters from entering the floor. The child must be permitted to rest, to have privacy, to sleep without having his picture taken.

Down the hall from Tony's room the elevator dinged and a young couple stepped off. They held hands, reassuring each other through touch that they were not alone in this. Brandi Paxton walked with a confidence she did not feel, her shoulders were squared, her jaw was set, her gaze was calm. She could face this child. She could face what had happened to this child because she had not insisted that the judge listen to her. Beside her, Teo Martinez was concerned for his girlfriend. She was a strong woman, had been through her own share of hellish experiences in life—some of which he was still learning about. He knew this had affected her deeply on a level somewhere inside of her that he could not reach.

Neither of them could pinpoint the reason for their desire to see this little boy and know that he was alright. As the afternoon had progressed, Teo had greatly warmed up to the idea of visiting Tony and his family, meeting these strong people and hearing their story. Brandi needed the reassurance that the child was still alive.

Brandi and Teo stopped outside the room number they'd been given. Each hospital room had a window to see inside it, and this window's mini-blind was open. They stared for a moment at the angry young man pacing next to the child's bed. Brandi looked nervously at Teo who nodded his head encouragingly. They hadn't come this far to chicken out now.

Taking a deep breath, Brandi knocked on the door. A moment later it opened just wide enough for the young man to peer out.

"Who are you," he snapped. He was wary of any strangers.

"We're lawyers from downtown," Teo said.

"We already have lawyers," Jethro growled. He started to shut the door.

"Look…if we could just speak with you for a moment…we don't mean any harm," Brandi said softly. "We know you've had a horrible day."

"You don't know shit," Jethro said, but he stepped back and opened the door wide enough for them to come inside the hospital room. Whatever would be said would not be said in the hall for everyone to hear. "You will keep your voices down and you will not wake him up. We clear?"

Brandi was astonished at how hard this man seemed. She'd seen criminals who were not like this. She nodded, immediately following orders. "Ok," she said softly. Beside her, Teo nodded as well.

Jethro sat down on the green chair and indicated the small, hard couch under the window for them to sit on. They both sat down stiffly and he watched them for a long moment, sizing them up. It was becoming exceedingly clear why this man was such a perfect guardian for this particular child. He was fearless—he would face down anyone, and he was scary enough to win.

"Who are you," Jethro asked again, taking a sip of coffee.

"My name is Brandi Paxton and this is my…colleague, Teo Martinez," Brandi said softly.

Jethro's eyes narrowed. "That name sounds familiar."

"Yes sir," she said, her head ducking.

"Don't call me sir, I work for a living," Jethro said, quoting his father.

She blinked in surprise, but then nodded. Had he attempted a joke? She smiled weakly.

"Why does your name sound familiar?" Jethro wanted to know.

Her eyes went back to her lap. "I was the public defender assigned to Mr. DiNozzo…up until last—"

"You've got a lot of nerve coming here," Jethro growled. His face darkened with anger.

"Wait. If you'll give me just a moment to explain…I'm not representing him anymore. He fired me last night, but if he hadn't fired me I was going to quit his case anyway! I couldn't…I know he's guilty of the things he's been charged with," Brandi said softly. "He didn't like the way I was handling his case…he fired me…I had a horrible feeling something was going to happen."

Jethro looked at her for a long moment. "Did he tell you about his plans," he sneered.

Tears filled Brandi's eyes. She deserved this man's anger. She couldn't leave yet; she had to face it.  
>"No he didn't…all he said was that he would represent himself."<p>

"Boy did he ever do that," Jethro muttered. "Look…I'm sure you're a nice person, and it isn't your fault you work at the public defender's office getting stuck with guys like DiNozzo to defend. But I wanna know why the hell you came here. You aren't representing his father anymore. You don't have a dog in the fight. Why are you here? What can you hope to gain from me sitting here snapping at you?"

Brandi was quiet for a long moment. Jethro's question was on the table and he took a sip of his coffee while he waited for an answer. Teo flicked his thumbs together nervously. This man was scary as hell. "I wanted to come here…I wanted to meet you and your family…Tony…I feel like I should have done something to prevent this from happening. I called the judge last night as soon as I left the jail…I told him that I'd been fired and that I felt like DiNozzo was up to something. He told me he'd deal with it in court this morning. I should have made him listen to me…I should have done something. I'm sorry," Brandi finally said, her voice cracking. Her eyes filled with tears and she stared at the child on the bed.

"Don't cry," a soft voice slurred from the bed.

Jethro's head snapped towards the bed and he was on his feet in an instant. Tony was blinking one eye slowly…trying to get it to focus, and frowning when he couldn't see clearly. "Hey buddy," he murmured softly, squeezing Tony's hand.

Tony smiled at him. His face twisted with pain when he tried to move his head.

"Hey, hey easy," Jethro said. "Just lay still sweetheart. It's gonna hurt to move for a bit."

"Kay," Tony whispered, his eye filling with tears. "How's a come I's can't see in my other eye?" His voice wavered pitifully as he spoke, fear leaking into his words.

"Your eye got hurt Tony. The doctor had to fix it. It's going to be a few days before you can see out of it."

Tony blinked his eye sleepily and stared up at Jethro. "Hurts," he whispered. Then he realized what sound it was he'd heard when he woke up. "Who crying?"

Jethro glanced at the two young lawyers. "Tony this is Miss Brandi and that is Mr. Teo. They are lawyers."

Tony couldn't see them where they were standing, so Jethro motioned for them to move closer to keep Tony from trying to move his head. Brandi was wiping her eyes with a tissue. Her eyes widened when she saw the soulful gaze staring up at her.

"W-Why you's sad?" Tony's voice sounded tired to Jethro. But with the drugs, and the surgery, and the injury…hell who wouldn't be tired after that?

"I'm sad because you got hurt," Brandi said softly.

Tony's face marred with confusion. "I-I's dunno you?" He blinked slowly again.

"I was your father's lawyer," Brandi admitted quietly. She felt like the most horrible person in the world. How could she explain to this child that her job was to keep the man who hurt him out of jail?

"Y-You's not now?"

Brandi shook her head. "No," she said. "No I'm not. I tried to tell the judge last night that I was scared something was going to happen today."

Jethro looked sharply at her. _No more details._ Brandi nodded once. _Understood_.

"A-A judge din't lissssssen?" Tony was very nearly asleep, from the looks of it.

She patted his arm. "No Tony," she said quietly, "No he wouldn't listen."

Tony yawned. "'sooookay," he murmured. "He askeded me funny questions. Told me a sky was red."

Jethro was worried—what the hell was Tony talking about? But Brandi smiled. "He was making sure you knew what a lie was?"

"Mmmhmmm," Tony hummed. "Missss B-Brandi?"

"Yes Tony?"

"I tinking…gonna sleep…m-maybe…m-maybe a morrow…a morrow you's a come and read me a 'towy?"

_Dear God, _she thought to herself. _How could anyone be mean to this child?_

She looked to Jethro for permission. He nodded once. Permission granted.

"I would like that very much Tony. I will pick out a story for us alright?"

Tony smiled as his eyes drifted shut. He lifted his hand and grabbed hers.

xxx

Under any other circumstances, Jackson would not be happy to see JoAnne. But after today…after everything that had happened…the family needed her there. She was as important to them as he was, and he knew that together they could hold their children together. Jackson stood in the terminal with Shannon and Kelly. They were sitting in a chair nearby; Kelly was curled into her exhausted mother's lap. Shannon and Jethro were both still wearing the scrubs that the nurses had provided for them. Their own clothes were saturated with their child's blood.

JoAnne was relatively easy to pick out of the crowd. Her hair was quaffed to perfection, her bold, red silk suit was slightly rumpled from the flight, and she carried only a purse and a briefcase with her. There had been no time to pack clothes.

Jackson lifted a hand to wave to her and she smiled in relief. He knew it was bad when she smiled at him. They usually barely had words of greeting for the other.

"Hello Jackson," she said. She sounded tired and worried.

"Hi there JoAnne," he returned with a gentle smile. "Horrible circumstances."

"How is he?" She kept her voice low.

"He's out of surgery. They fixed his retina, but don't know about his vision. He's missing a chunk of bone in his eye socket."

JoAnne closed her eyes. "Well he will get whatever care he needs. Plastic surgery, reconstructive, all of it, whatever is necessary."

Jackson nodded and smiled, recalling her behavior at Christmas. How far they'd come. "Are you ready to go?"

JoAnne nodded. She turned and saw her girls sitting in the waiting area. JoAnne hadn't seen Shannon look that exhausted since Kelly was born. "My dears," she said with a smile. "I love you both so very much," she said softly, gathering first Kelly and then Shannon into gentle hugs.

A moment later she felt her daughter's hot tears on her shoulder. She hugged Shannon a bit tighter. Jackson had Kelly's hand and was leading her to a window to watch the planes so she wouldn't be frightened by her mother's tears. "Oh my darling," she whispered. "Is he alright?"

Shannon nodded, but sobbed harder. "He was so still," she whispered. She'd been holding it together all day; putting on a show, playing the tough girl so that Jethro, Kelly and Jackson wouldn't be afraid. She just couldn't do it anymore. "Oh God Momma I thought he was going to die…I didn't think I was going to be able to help him…I thought…I thought the bullet had…I thought he was dead," Shannon whispered in horror. Her fingers clung desperately to her mother's jacket, rumpling the suit further.

"Shhhh Shannon," her mother soothed, running her hand over her hair as she'd done when she was a child. "He didn't die. He isn't going to. He's safe now. It's going to be alright. Whatever it is, we'll get through it all together."

They stood like that for several minutes, until Shannon was able to regain control of her emotions. JoAnne was concerned about her daughter. She seemed so…old. Then again, if JoAnne had experienced what Shannon had gone through today, she likely would look and feel the same. "Come my dear," she said, taking her daughter by the hand. "We need to get you out of here. Are we going back to your house tonight?"

Shannon shook her head. "Jackson got us a hotel room," she murmured. She was shutting down; she was just too tired to take on anymore tonight.

"Good," JoAnne said, very glad that none of them would have long drives this evening. They all needed rest. "We'll go back to the hotel room and you can get some sleep."

Shannon nodded and didn't speak. JoAnne looked at Jackson, worry evident on her features. He shook his head slightly. Not here. There would be time to talk, he would fill her in, but not here. Not now.

xxx

Shannon and Kelly both fell asleep almost immediately upon their arrival to the hotel room. JoAnne told Shannon on the way to the hotel that she and Jackson were going to step out for a bit—pick up some clothes for all of them, some toothbrushes, some snacks, and would stop by the hospital to check on Jethro and Tony while they were gone. Shannon had nodded her agreement but remained silent.

Kelly had noticed how quiet her mother was being, how sad she seemed. It worried her to think that something really bad had happened to Tony. She hadn't been allowed in to see him this afternoon. They told her he was asleep and she needed to let him rest. Kelly was alright with that, but she didn't like that all the grownups in her world were so sad. She didn't know what to do—she wanted to see Tony—wanted to see if there was something they weren't telling her about.

Once the girls were asleep, Jackson and JoAnne left. They got into Jackson's rented car and headed for the nearest Walmart. Usually their clothes were beneath JoAnne's standards, but for what they would be doing over the next few days, it would suffice. Together they picked out clothes for Kelly, some comfortable sweatpants and t-shirts for Tony. They decided to split ways and JoAnne would find clothes for Shannon and herself, and Jackson would find clothes for himself and Jethro.

Once they had all the clothes they needed—enough for each of them to have a week's worth—they headed for toiletries where a heated discussion ensued about shampoo and body wash. Finally they decided to let JoAnne pick out shampoo while Jackson found soap that would get everyone clean. They threw deodorants, toothbrushes, toothpaste (another argument—tartar control or whitening?), into the basket. Hairbrushes came next, a razor for Jethro, and a pack of elastic bands for Kelly's hair. They moved on to the food section and bought packs of crackers, mini boxes of cereal, bananas, milk, juice boxes, microwaveable popcorn, a box of cookies and applesauce cups. They bought a bag of coffee that Jethro liked and a box of green tea for Shannon. They picked out a set of matching travel mugs and added them to the cart.

They bought coloring books for Kelly, story books for Tony, a cd-player and music cds, and books on cd for Tony to listen to. They bought Tony a stuffed monkey that had Velcro on his hands so he could be hooked around things like IV poles or bedrails without any trouble, and they got him a new blanket. Kelly got a new doll and some clothes, a couple of puzzles and some story books as well. It wouldn't do for the children to be bored. They stopped by the book section and picked out several novels by authors they all liked, and several crossword puzzle books, number puzzle books, word find books, and a pack of pens. Several fashion magazines landed in the cart on top. It wouldn't do for the adults to be bored either.

Laughing at themselves for going crazy shopping together, they headed for the checkout. JoAnne insisted that she cover the bill, but Jackson overruled her by handing the cashier enough cash to cover half of the purchase. The cashier swiped JoAnne's credit card to cover the rest of the bill. They loaded their purchases into the car and headed for the hospital. Along the way they stopped and had a quick dinner in a small tex-mex diner. It was the most time they'd spent one-on-one in…well…ever, and they found they were not repulsed by the other's company. They each knew their role, and they each knew they needed the other to be the strength the children needed.

All of the children.

xxx

Jethro jerked awake from the doze he'd allowed himself to slip into when the door to Tony's room snicked open. He relaxed when he saw who it was. Jackson was carrying a large shopping bag with him. Behind him, JoAnne crept into the room, her eyes widening when she saw the state her grandson was in.

"Oh angel," she whispered. She walked to the foot of Tony's bed and stopped. She didn't touch him because she figured he'd likely wake up. For now she was content to watch him sleep, reassured by the readings on the machines, everything sounded steady and relaxed—nothing sounded as though there was any urgent medical emergency. And Jethro had been sleeping—he wouldn't have been asleep if there was a problem. She knew that with great certainty.

"They gave him something for the pain about an hour ago," Jethro said softly. "He was hurting pretty bad…his eye…well there's the broken bone, and then the surgery…" he ran a hand through his hair.

"Jethro have you eaten dinner?" JoAnne asked. She looked at the clock. Eight pm.

Jethro shook his head. "No," he said softly. "I haven't…couldn't leave him."

JoAnne put her hands on his shoulders gently. "Go with your father and get some dinner," she instructed. "I will stay here while you are gone and I will get in touch with you if there is a problem. But you said he's asleep and he's not hurting. Now it's time to take care of you. You're going to have to take care of yourself so you can be strong for him."

Jethro blinked and looked from his dad to his mother-in-law. "Thank you," he whispered. "For coming…for being out here…I don't know…we wouldn't have…" he bit his lip when his voice cracked and he blinked the tears that filled his eyes away. "We uh, we appreciate you coming out," he said finally.

JoAnne kissed him on the cheek. "Go eat," she said. "When you come back we've gotten you some clothes so you can change if you'd like." Jethro looked uncertain. JoAnne stood nose to nose with him. "Don't make me fuss at you," she said, the underlying threat in her voice was unmistakable.

Jethro turned and looked at Tony for a long moment. He walked over to the left side of Tony's bed and squeezed the child's hand. Tony stirred for a moment, blinking and looking up at Jethro with his good eye. He didn't speak.

"Daddy's gonna go eat ok? Grandma's here…she came to see you," Jethro said with a sad smile. "She's gonna sit in here with you and I'm gonna run downstairs and eat really quickly ok?"

"Kay," Tony whispered.

Jethro smiled and kissed Tony's cheek. "I love you buddy," he whispered.

Tony yawned and his eyes slid shut. They'd given him the good drugs. "I loves you's too…Jehhhhsrow."

"Come on Leroy," Jackson said. He opened the door to Tony's room and held out his hand, beckoning his son. He patted his shoulder reassuringly as Jethro left the room. "We'll be back," he murmured to JoAnne. She smiled and nodded, taking a seat where Jethro had been.

xxx

Jethro followed his father downstairs as if in a daze, overwhelmed by the events of the day. Jackson glanced over his shoulder and saw the almost vacant stare on Jethro's face and put an arm around his boy's shoulders. "It's gonna be alright," he said quietly. "Tony's going to be alright."

Jethro blinked and then looked at his dad. "Yeah," he said quietly, but his voiced agreement didn't match his lost facial expression. Jethro stopped walking and Jackson stopped with him. "What…what'll I do…what if he's not," Jethro whispered. He lifted a shaking hand to cover his mouth and stared at his dad, icy blue eyes melting into rivers of tears on his cheeks.

Jackson pulled his son into a tight hug and let his boy release his fears into his shoulder. He recalled a time, years ago when Jethro would do this willingly…now it seemed…it seemed that things had gotten bad enough that he had come back to this point. He ran a firm hand down the back of Jethro's head trying to soothe his desperate sobs. "I got you son, it's alright. Let it go. I got you."

A nurse passing by gave them a curious, but sympathetic look. Crying people in hospitals weren't uncommon, and the nurse didn't stop. Jackson tilted his head into Jethro's. "We'll get through it together," he whispered. "All of us together."

Finally after several minutes Jethro calmed down and his sobs quieted. He stood up straight and Jackson offered him a handkerchief to wipe his eyes and blow his nose with. The young man squared his shoulders and set his jaw. "Sorry," he said quietly.

"No son. Don't apologize for this. Shannon had a similar experience with her own mother earlier. You're both stretched so thin here…it's alright to need to break down once in a while."

Jethro looked concerned. "Is Shannon ok? And Kelly?"

Jackson nodded. "They're like you—exhausted. Shannon got pretty upset this evening once everything calmed down…she's a tough girl Jethro. They're at the hotel room asleep. Tomorrow I want you to go back to the hotel and at least grab a shower and a nap. No arguments."

Jethro looked like he wanted to argue for a minute, but then remembered JoAnne's words. _You're going to have to take care of yourself so you can be strong for him._ He nodded. "Okay dad," he whispered.

Jackson nodded, satisfied. "Good. Let's go find you something to eat and something besides coffee to suck down. I swear you could keep Starbucks in business just on your own caffeine habit."

Jethro laughed and walked with his father down the hall.

xxx

A while later, Tony stirred and opened his one good eye. The room was fairly quiet. His head was pounding horribly. He felt scared, but he wasn't sure why…he knew he was in the hospital but he couldn't remember how he'd gotten there.

"Jehhhsrow?" he swallowed hard. His mouth was dry.

JoAnne was sitting beside Tony's bed, flipping idly through a magazine when she heard the little boy stir. She set the magazine aside and stepped up to Tony's bed. She smiled down at him, seeing that his unbandaged eye was open.

"Hi Sweetheart," she whispered. She ran her fingers lightly down his arm and he smiled up at her.

"Gramma?"

"Yes honey," she said. "Grandma's here. How are you feeling?"

"I…I ok," Tony said softly, not wanting to admit how bad he felt. He didn't want to be a bother, after all. "Wh-where m-my Jethro?"

"He went to eat honey. Do you remember him telling you he'd be back soon?"

Tony shook his head.

"He and Grandpa went to get something to eat. They should be back anytime now," she reassured the frightened little boy. She had not missed the way he tensed when she told him Jethro wasn't there. "I'll stay with you ok?"

Tony nodded and then groaned when it hurt his head.

"Take it easy," JoAnne whispered, but it was too late. She yelped in surprise when Tony suddenly projectile vomited all over her. All over her silk suit. Her power suit.

Without missing a beat, JoAnne hit the call button to alert the nurse, and wet a washcloth to wipe Tony's face. She took a second while her back was to Tony to mourn the loss of her power suit, but immediately turned her focus back to the pitiful little boy on the bed.

"Allllright it's ok," she said. She wiped the child's face and neck off as a nurse entered the room.

"Uh oh," the nurse whose name was Pam said. "I'll get you a clean gown hold on one second," she said, turning and hurrying from the room. A moment later she returned with fresh sheets and blankets, and a fresh hospital gown for Tony. Tony blinked his eyes tiredly, but smiled slightly when he noticed the new gown had race cars on it. He wanted to drive a fast car.

The nurse turned and looked at JoAnne and had to bite her lip to keep from smiling. The obviously very prissy, very manicured and well dressed woman looked like a train wreck. Her suit, already rumpled, was now covered in yellow bile, and the poor woman had somehow managed to wipe some of it in her hair as well, giving it a sticky, pasted down look in the front. She was leaning close to Tony, but trying not to touch because she was still so messy.

Tony, all clean now, was crying and whimpering in pain. When he'd thrown up it felt like bombs had exploded in his head and behind his right eye.

"I'll go get you something to change into," Pam said softly, hurrying again from the room.

A moment later the door opened again. Without turning around, JoAnne called over her shoulder. "Just set those clothes on the chair dear, and I'll change in a minute." She was still trying to console Tony.

"What happened?"

JoAnne whipped around to see that it was not Pam with the clothes returning, but Jethro and Jackson returning from dinner.

"Tony threw up," she said softly.

Tony began to cry harder.

Jethro rushed to his side. "Hey buddy! Hey Tony I'm back. I'm back now. Please don't cry. Shhhh it's alright now, it's ok. Daddy's here. Shhhh I've got you."

Jethro lowered the side rail on the bed and didn't notice JoAnne being covered in vomit at all. He only had eyes for his little boy. He quickly stretched out next to Tony on the bed and pulled him close. He ran his hand soothingly up and down Little Tony's arm and pressed kisses to his cheek and forehead.

The nurse returned with the clothes for JoAnne and a syringe filled with medication to help Tony rest and not feel so sick. She adjusted the port in his IV and added the medication. Tony almost instantly stilled. His sobs slackened and he stared up at Jethro with his one good eye.

Jethro smiled down at him. He felt renewed since his dinner with his dad. He figured it had less to do about the food and more to do about having the support they all needed. He'd never be able to repay them for their help. Six months ago he would have been reluctant to ask for their assistance, but now they didn't even need to be asked, both of them just showed up, ready to help however possible. Even if it was sharing a cup of coffee, buying a crossword puzzle book, or offering a shoulder to lean on.

Tony was already dozing off, and the older parents quickly noticed that Jethro was doing the same. Jackson pulled the blanket up over both of them and ran a hand over his boy's head. He looked up at JoAnne with a sober expression that quickly morphed into glee.

JoAnne was standing at the foot of the bed watching them. Her hair was matted to her head with vomit and her pristine silk costs-way-too-much-money-suit was covered—literally covered—in yellow vomit. Jackson burst out laughing at the sight before him. Despite all of the horror of the day, he could now say he'd had a good laugh.

It was nice to see the old girl brought down a notch, or three.

TBC…


	27. Reconnect and Regroup

_**Thanks** to my wonderful beta, Gotgoats! You are amazing and awesome and wonderful and I appreciate you soooo much!  
><em>_**Special Thanks**__ to Mdemeran for all your assistance with the legal pieces in this chapter._

**Daddy's Boy****hapter 27: Reconnect and Regroup**

Judge Sorrells rose out of bed slowly the next morning, feeling every one of his forty-seven years. He showered and once he was finished, wiped the mirror with a towel and stared at his reflection. He blinked when he realized that he was having a difficult time making eye contact with himself in the mirror. He was ridden with guilt over what had happened the day before. He'd phoned the hospital several times and spoken with Jethro who was terse with him, but assured him that Tony was alright.

It was a miracle that little boy survived.

He dressed quickly, combed his thinning hair and walked down the stairs to the kitchen. He slowly prepared a bowl of oatmeal for himself and forced himself to eat it. He was so sick about the events in his courtroom yesterday that he hadn't eaten anything. He needed to eat. He'd felt marginally better after speaking with Brandi Paxton on the phone and apologizing, but knew that he needed to do something to make it up to her. She'd been brave—it was uncommon for public defenders to be willing to quit a case based on their moral beliefs. Most of the PDs he'd seen were ruthless lawyers, meticulously planning ways to rise to the top and find their winning case to freedom. Miss Paxton seemed different, and Sorrells liked that.

He had a friend who worked in the advocate's office in the county's child protective services division. Recently he'd heard his friend speaking, on more than one occasion, about how useful it would be to have a young lawyer on board to help with hearings and paperwork. The pay would be substantially greater than it was in the public defender's office, and this could potentially be something that Miss Paxton was interested in.

Sorrells drove to work, happy with his idea. When he got to his office he called his friend and explained the situation. His friend was overjoyed that Sorrells had someone who would possibly be interested. He got off the phone with his friend and dialed the number for the public defenders' office. He asked to speak to Brandi Paxton and was put on hold for a moment.

"Brandi Paxton," came the young woman's voice through the phone.

"Good morning Miss Paxton, Judge Sorrells."

"Good morning Your Honor."

"I would like to meet with you. I have something to discuss. What time would be convenient for you?"

There was a pause and Sorrells could hear Brandi shifting some papers. "Um…I could come now if it's a good time?"

"Splendid. You know where my office is?"

"Yes Your Honor."

"Excellent. See you soon." Sorrells hung up the phone and smiled.

xxx

Jethro was awake, showered, and changed into the clothes that JoAnne and Jackson had gotten for him by the time the rest of the family arrived. JoAnne took Kelly to the Gift Shop on the way in to buy a gift for Tony, and to give Jethro and Shannon time to discuss how Tony was doing and decide if they were ready for the kids to see each other yet. Jackson stopped by the cafeteria to get coffees for everyone. He had fully intended to make sure Jethro went to the hotel room and got some much needed sleep, but was surprised when he arrived to see that Jethro looked surprisingly well rested.

"I slept with Tony," Jethro explained quietly. The little boy was still asleep. "He was scared and hurting some, and seemed to be calmer with me on the bed with him…just kinda worked out that I got some sleep too."

Shannon smiled. "I'm glad you got some sleep, Honey." She wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him tightly. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and returned the embrace, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

"Heard you got kinda upset last night," Jethro said softly. "I'm sorry I wasn't there for you."

"You were exactly where you needed to be." Shannon looked at him unwaveringly. "Don't apologize for that. Tony needed you."

"So did you."

"I had mom and Jackson and Kelly. I was well taken care of. Besides," she raised an eyebrow at him. "I heard _you_ got upset too."

"I um…maybe a little," Jethro rubbed the back of his neck with one hand and smiled sheepishly. He hugged her again and they shared a quiet chuckle at their silliness.

They decided that Kelly could visit Tony as long as Kelly listened and didn't go crazy in the room and stir Tony up. Jackson volunteered for him and JoAnne to take Kelly on a field trip of some sort if Tony started feeling worse. Shannon went outside to wait for JoAnne while Jethro set about waking Tony up. Jethro sat on the edge of the bed and brushed some of Tony's increasingly unruly hair back from his eyes.

"Tony?" Jethro kept his voice soft. "Wake up son. You've got company." Jethro knew the nurses would be in soon with Tony's breakfast tray—they were going to start him out on some foods that were easy to digest and see how he did…with concussions, one could never tell how the appetite would be.

Tony shifted slightly and whimpered in pain, but slowly blinked his uncovered eye open. His gaze sharpened as he looked at Jethro—more than it had yesterday, but he was still a bit foggy looking. The little boy smiled.

"Look who is waking up in a good mood this morning," Jethro said with a proud smile. "How you feeling buddy?"

Tony blinked a couple of times. "I ok," he whispered. "Whooo here?" Tony yawned.

Jackson stepped up to the bed. "Hello there Little Man," he said softly with a big smile.

Tony smiled. "Hey Grampa," he said quietly. He licked his lips slowly.

The hospital room door opened and Shannon peeked inside. "Is our little one awake?" She stepped close to the bed and smiled down at her little boy. "Hi Sweetheart," she said, leaning down and rubbing her nose softly with him.

Tony giggled at his Shannon. He loved it when she rubbed her nose on his. "Hey," he said softly.

"How are you feeling baby?" Shannon gently sat on the side of the bed and rubbed her hand up and down Tony's tummy softly.

Tony's smile faded and tears filled the eye that was not covered. "I ok," he said softly, trying to be brave.

Shannon looked at Tony and shook her head. "Are you hurting?"

Tony lowered his gaze. "I no wanna be a bother," he said softly.

"Sweetheart if you are hurting, that isn't you being a bother," Shannon said gently, but firmly. "We can help you not hurt, but you have to tell us ok?"

Tony thought on it for a moment and then nodded slightly. "M-my head. It hurting," he whimpered, and several tears spilled down his cheeks.

Shannon leaned down and kissed him on the cheek, hitting the call button at the same time. "I am so sorry your head is hurting angel," she said softly. "The nurse will bring you some medicine to make it feel better ok?"

"I's sorry," Tony whispered.

"Nothing to be sorry for," Shannon said with another kiss to Tony's forehead.

The door opened again and the nurse came in. She adjusted the port and added the pain medicine to Tony's IV. "You went the full six hours without the medicine this time. That's good! That'll make you feel better Sugarpop," she said with a smile. "Let me know if you need anything else." She patted Tony's foot and headed out the door.

Shannon fixed the blankets covering Tony and stood up. "I'm gonna go outside and wait for Kelly and Grandma ok?"

Tony stared at her. "Uh huh," he said softly. "M-my Jethro gon' 'tay with me?"

"I'm right here buddy," Jethro said softly. "Not going anywhere." He sat down on the edge of the bed with Tony. The little boy snuggled as close to his Jethro as he could, but didn't want to move too much. Jethro scooted a little closer and he and Tony shared a grin. Jethro looked up at his dad and smiled. There were voices in the hallway…any second now…

"TONY!" Kelly all but bounced into the room, carrying a gift shop bag with her. Tony visibly flinched when she spoke loudly and she froze in her tracks.

Mommy had told Kelly that Tony had a big bandaid on his head…but she wasn't expecting _this_! His head was wrapped up in the white stuff like the mummy on the cartoon had been wearing…only one of his eyes was uncovered. His hand had a tube coming out of it…Kelly looked up at Jethro and Shannon. They nodded encouragingly for her to go see Tony. She reluctantly took a step forward and peered up over the edge of the bed at him.

"Hey Tony," she whispered.

This time Tony didn't flinch. His eye moved to look at her and she grinned. Tony grinned back. "Hey," he said softly. "Y-you's a come a play?"

"I get to keep your companies," Kelly said. She slowly and carefully climbed up on the bed, mindful of everything attached to Tony, and a little bit scared to get too close. She held the bag in her lap.

Tony stared at her. "W-What in a bag?"

"Can I show him?" Kelly asked. The grownups all nodded. "I got you a present Tony! Because you hurt your head! You wanna see it?"

Tony blinked and yawned. "Yeah," he said quietly. The pain medicine that the nurse had given him was starting to work.

Kelly held out the bag. "You wanna open it? It's your present."

Tony yawned again. "No," he said softly, "you can do it. I watching."

Kelly looked at Jethro and Shannon again, and they nodded. They understood why their daughter was so confused—Tony was not really acting like himself as far as Kelly was concerned. But the parents were very pleased with how well he was talking and interacting, focusing on and following the conversation. He was sleepy and on day two of a concussion…and the nurse had just given him a good dose of painkillers.

"It's alright Princess," Jethro said with a gentle smile. "You can open it for him."

Kelly nodded slowly and gently reached into the bag. She _really _hoped Tony would like his gift. Kelly held the big green dinosaur up for Tony to look at. It had yellow and purple spots on it. Tony's eye widened and he smiled dopily at the dinosaur.

"What his name?"

Kelly turned the dinosaur around and looked at its face. "I dunno," she said. "What do you think?"

Tony said the only name he could think of that went with dinosaurs. "Barney," he murmured faintly. His eye dropped shut.

Kelly held out the dinosaur hoping Tony would take it. When he didn't, she squeezed its tummy and it let out a pretty substantial growling sound. Tony's eye shot open and he stared at the dinosaur and smiled. His hands moved slowly as they reached out and clumsily accepted the dinosaur. He hugged it to his chest, and his eye lit up and he smiled when it growled again.

"Do you like him Tony?" Kelly chewed nervously on her lower lip, concerned for her brother.

"He good," Tony whispered, eyes closing again. As he drifted off to sleep the dinosaur growled again in the otherwise silent room.

xxx

Jackson and JoAnne had run down to the house on base to walk Sasha and give Myra Tyler some money for watching the dog for them. She'd helped out in a pinch yesterday, and the Gibbses wanted to thank her for her help. At the hospital in LA, Tony was in a considerable amount of pain and the nurse told them it was too early for more pain medicine. He was curled on the bed with his head resting on Jethro's thigh. Jethro was reading one of the novels that the grandparents had picked up, Shannon was working a crossword puzzle and Kelly was coloring in one of her new coloring books. She looked around, picked up her coloring book and shook it out, looked on the floor under her chair, and huffed.

"What is it sweetheart?" Shannon's voice was soft. She knew that Tony's head was aching horribly—the child had gotten increasingly unhappy as the morning progressed. He was starting to whine a bit and was getting snappish and ill whenever people made noise.

"I can't find my black crayon!" Kelly exclaimed in frustration, without a thought to how loud her voice sounded in the small room.

Tony had just drifted off to sleep and woke suddenly. He shifted, and with a knifing pain through his head behind his right eye, he moaned and started to cry.

Jethro brushed his fingers over Tony's hair and frowned when the child flinched away. He hit the call button.

Kelly rushed to the foot of Tony's bed. "Did I hurt you Tony?"

"G-Goooo 'w-'waaaay," Tony moaned. "You's too loud Kelly!"

Kelly's face dropped and a sullenness overwhelmed her demeanor.

"It's alright, Princess," Jethro said. "Tony just doesn't feel good. You haven't done anything wrong. Tony, we know you don't feel good, but you still need to try and be nice, buddy. Kelly wasn't that loud when she spoke."

"I's sorry," Tony whispered, tears on his cheeks.

If it was hard for Tony to be still and quiet while he was in bed injured and recovering from surgery, then it was nearly impossible to contain Kelly. She had already accidentally woke Tony up on a couple of different occasions. Jethro and Shannon knew that she wasn't trying to be loud, and certainly didn't want to cause Tony any pain, but it was difficult for the energetic seven year old to be quiet in a room for that long.

The nurse appeared and Jethro insisted that fifteen minutes wouldn't make that much difference—Tony needed more pain medication and he needed it _now._ The nurse looked to Shannon, also a nurse, and she nodded her agreement. The nurse turned and hurried from the room. A moment later Jackson and JoAnne entered the room quietly, back from their quick trip down the coast.

"Helloooo," Jackson said softly as he stuck his head in the room. Tony whimpered in pain and Jethro murmured softly to him, trying to comfort him. Jackson frowned. He looked around the room. Kelly looked absolutely devastated.

"What's going on?" JoAnne asked softly.

"Tony's head's hurting pretty badly," Shannon said softly. "And I think he maybe hurt Kelly's feelings a little bit," she looked at her daughter whose bottom lip was quivering pitifully. She hugged her oldest child gently. "It's alright Sweetheart," she murmured. "Not your fault ok? Tony can't help he doesn't feel good, but he loves having you with him."

Kelly sniffled and nodded pitifully. "I didn't mean to make his head hurt," she whispered.

"I know angel baby," Shannon said.

Jackson and JoAnne had decided while they were gone that they would take Kelly to the Aquarium of the Pacific down on Long Beach that afternoon. The aquarium was about a half hour away, but it would keep Kelly entertained for the majority of the afternoon. That would give Tony a chance to get some rest, and Jethro and Shannon could have a few quiet moments together as well. Everyone would be satisfied that way.

xxx

After Jackson and JoAnne left with Kelly, Tony fell asleep. His breathing was deep and even—it was the most restful he'd slept since this whole mess began. The nurse came in and brought Tony's lunch tray and told Jethro and Shannon that if they wanted to run downstairs and grab some food the cafeteria was open.

Shannon told Jethro to stay with Tony and she would run down to the cafeteria and get them something to eat.

"Anything special you want honey?"

"Whatever they have. I haven't eaten since Dad dragged me to the cafeteria yesterday," Jethro said with a sheepish grin.

Shannon raised one eyebrow and frowned slightly. "What do you want to eat," she asked again, a bit more firmly.

Jethro looked up from his book and narrowed his eyes just slightly, a smirk playing on his lips. "Whatever you get for yourself, get two of them," he said sweetly.

"Tuna salad coming right up," Shannon snarked with a cheeky smile. Jethro hated tuna salad.

Jethro smiled sweetly. "No one likes a smart ass darling," he snarked back. "Get me a cheeseburger and fries."

Shannon nodded and reached in her purse and grabbed her wallet. "Back in a minute," she said, and whacked Jethro over the back of the head on her way out. Jethro chuckled, shaking his head, and returned to his book.

A few minutes later, Shannon returned, bag in hand and a smile on her face. "I got all sort of stuff," she said. "Come sit with me and eat."

Jethro eased himself out from under Tony, smiling and brushing a hand over the child's hair. Tony never stirred; he was finally resting well.

They settled on the couch together, Jethro with his back against the arm of the couch in the room, Shannon curled into his lap, and they pulled the rollaway table close to them and set the food on it. Suddenly hungry, they both attacked their food with gusto, and it didn't take Jethro long to eat the two cheeseburgers that Shannon had brought for them. Shannon was normally a bit of a stickler for fixing healthy-ish foods, but today wasn't about being healthy. Today was about comfort.

She reached into the bag and pulled out one last styrofoam container.

"What's in the box?" Jethro wanted to know.

Shannon smiled and flipped the lid open. French fries…but not only that—they were doused—absolutely covered in cheddar cheese sauce. On the side were cups of ketchup. Jethro smiled. As much as he hated tuna salad, he _loved_ cheese fries. They were right up there with blueberry pancakes on Jethro's favorite-things-to-eat list. They were also one of Shannon's weaknesses.

"I love you," he whispered. "Not just because you brought cheese fries, though they do win you even more points in my book." He grinned at her.

She smiled and kissed him softly. "You've been so brave," she whispered. "I love you so much. I am so proud to call you the father of my children." She looked at Tony, still asleep on the bed, one arm slung over the stuffed dinosaur and drool sliding down his chin. "Both of my children."

Jethro picked up a french fry and teased Shannon's bottom lip with it, making sure there was cheese on it before feeding her the fry. As soon as she had swallowed it down, he leaned in and kissed her passionately. "You're beautiful," he whispered. "I love you so much."

Shannon kissed him back. "I don't wanna be a party pooper," she said with a smile, using one of the kids' favorite terms, "but we don't want to traumatize our son anymore than he already is, by having him catch his parents making out on the couch in the hospital room like a pair of horny teenagers."

Jethro stared at her for a minute, struggling internally not to laugh at how serious she was. He kissed her again, equally as passionately. "Finnnnne Mommmmm," he groaned.

"Don't get sassy," Shannon teased.

Jethro chuckled and kissed her again. Tony shifted on the bed and they froze. They waited a moment until he settled back down and then Jethro kissed her again, harder. Shannon tried not to giggle, but the man was just so damn adorable when he was trying to be seductive, she couldn't help herself. She grabbed his face with her hands and pulled him down into a passionate kiss.

"Eeewwww," Tony groaned from the bed. "Y-yucky!"

They burst apart, surprised that the child was awake, and Tony giggled softly. Sometimes Shannon and Jethro were so yucky.

xxx

Anthony DiNozzo Senior was back to pacing in his cell. This time was a bit more desperate, a bit more nervous…he'd screwed up. He'd had one shot—okay, two shots—and he'd ruined it. He needed the kid dead—he was going to ruin everything! Tony knew too much. He was going to tell about what happened to Sophia, Senior just knew it. And he was going to talk about how mean and awful they'd been to him. Spew out all these horrible ideas that the Gibbses had put into his head. He was just a child—he was still at that young age where he was impressionable. He should be learning deference and respect, not being told that everything they'd spent years teaching him was wrong!

Senior had been informed that he would be undergoing a psychiatric evaluation later on today. If he was deemed competent to stand trial, then he would be assigned another public defender, unless Senior could get someone to represent him either pro bono, or with the agreement that they would be paid once the trial was over. The court system had screwed up by not interviewing him and evaluating him closer beforehand. They were not going to make that same mistake twice.

Because his trial was being rescheduled, the jailer had given him a bit of time to try phoning around to find someone to represent him. Chuck stood over his shoulder while he made the calls. He called Aaron, but got no answer. He phoned some of Aaron's colleagues and friends, but received no answer. He pulled out the phone book and began dialing every respectable, expensive looking lawyer in town, but was turned down every time. He began looking at the lawyers who didn't have large ads, whose names and phone numbers were merely listed along the bottom of the page, but received the same results.

"I can't even get anyone to represent me in this godforsaken city," Senior roared at one point. "How the hell am I supposed to get a fair trial?"

Chuck, standing in front of the door with his arms crossed, just smiled. "You could always petition the judge for a change of venue," he said helpfully.

Senior whipped around on him. "I didn't ask you," he sneered.

Later, back in his cell, Senior was continuing to pace frantically. He had to figure out something. He needed someone who would listen to him, someone who could see things from his perspective. He didn't intend to kill his wife—he only got angry! And he wouldn't have ever killed the bailiff if he hadn't moved in front of Tony. And Tony…well he was just trying to punish his boy as he saw fit—a bit harsher than his own parents had punished him when he was a child, but Tony refused to listen, refused to obey. Children shouldn't be seen or heard in his opinion. He didn't know what the Gibbses were trying to pull with all of this. He wanted to avoid the media coverage, wanted to avoid watching as his name and his respectable reputation were dragged through the media like mud on the bottom of a boot.

It was late in the afternoon, the day after the shooting, when the keys rattled against the lock on the cell block. A young man was led down the block and he stopped in front of the door to Senior's cell.

"Who the hell are you?" Senior snarled.

The young man smiled. "Hello Mr. DiNozzo. I am here to help you. My name is Teo Martinez, Attorney at Law."

TBC…


	28. The Trial of Anthony DiNozzo Sr 3

**Author's Note: **Big thank you to** Mdemeran **for the assistance with the legal stuff, and as always, my greatest thanks to** Gotgoats **for betaing and doing cartwheels for me when I needed encouraging. Love ya dude!

**Daddy's Boy  
><strong>**Chapter 28: The Trial of Anthony DiNozzo Senior 3**

The morning after the shooting, Senior reluctantly informed Chuck that he couldn't find a lawyer. After everything that had happened in court the day before, Senior was now required to find legal counsel. If he could not find someone to represent him, then he would receive another public defender. He spent the majority of the morning with his head in his hands, wondering how his life had become so damn difficult.

He knew if he had it to do over again he'd have surely killed Tony instead of throwing him out of the car. Tony was the root of all the trouble here. If he hadn't been taken in by the Gibbses and convinced to run his damn mouth, then none of this would have happened. The Gibbses were determined to smear his reputation. Of course, with their…miniscule income…they were probably jealous of how successful the DiNozzo family was. Senior needed to find a way around the trial. There would be media hounds crawling all over it—badgering him and whoever his lawyer ended up being. He didn't want any false rumors started—he absolutely refused to have his beloved wife's memory tarnished.

Senior told the guard when breakfast arrived that he was unable to find legal counsel. The guard nodded and finished delivering the boxes. After that he walked back to his desk, and an hour or so later remembered he was supposed to call the Public Defender's office. He spoke with Claire, who was the head of the PD office and she said she would find someone and send him or her on down to meet with Senior. They didn't have any confirmation yet on when the trial would be rescheduled to, but they needed to act as quickly as possible.

xxx

Across town at the Public Defenders' office, Claire Regan hung up the phone and rubbed her forehead with her hand. She'd really hoped that Mr. DiNozzo would have been able to find someone outside of her office to represent him. After the experience Brandi Paxton had with him, it would be difficult to talk someone else into taking on his case.

Steeling herself for the task, she walked out into the bullpen. "May I have your attention please," she called. "I need one or two good volunteers to take on the DiNozzo case."

"Is he the one who shot his kid in the courtroom?"

Claire sighed. It would be difficult to find impartiality. To her surprise though, Teo Martinez stepped forward. "I'll do it," he said. "I'll take the case."

xxx

It was late in the afternoon, the day after the shooting, when the keys rattled against the lock on the cell block. A young man was led down the block and he stopped in front of the door to Senior's cell.

"Who the hell are you?" Senior snarled.

The young man smiled. "Hello Mr. DiNozzo. I am here to help you. My name is Teo Martinez, Attorney at Law."

"What makes you think I want your help?"

"What makes you think anyone else is going to come to your aid?"

Senior's eyes narrowed. "I'm listening," he growled.

Teo smiled. "Let's head down to the meeting room, shall we?"

xxx

Tony slowly opened his unbandaged eye and looked around. Someone had painted the room while he was asleep! There were different colored swirls and stripes on the wall. There were dots on the wall that were flashing—it looked so silly! Tony started to chuckle and it quickly morphed into peals of laughter.

Jethro was asleep on the couch, having dozed off watching a movie. It was about seven in the evening and Shannon had returned to the hotel with Kelly for dinner, bath, and bedtime. They would be back tomorrow. He blinked his eyes open. He knew he'd heard a sound, but what was it? Waking further, he recognized the sound…Tony was laughing. Jethro sat up and looked around. Tony was lying in bed, in the semi-dark room, giggling uncontrollably and murmuring softly to himself.

Moving to his boy's side, Jethro tried to follow Tony's gaze to see what he was looking at that was so amusing. But Tony was just staring at the drab beige wall—it looked the same as it had ever since they arrived. Jethro narrowed his eyes a bit and looked back at Tony.

What the hell was going on?

"Tony?" Jethro reached out and shook Tony's shoulder lightly. Tony blinked and looked at him. "You ok buddy?" Tony was still giggling. Jethro tried again. "Tony. What's so funny?"

Tony pointed at the wall and giggled even harder. His Jethro was so silly—he was acting like he couldn't see the way the spots and stripes were dancing all over the wall! Silly Jethro…As he watched the spots dance, one spot began to grow darker. It stopped dancing like the others and it began to grow legs, even as it became black as night. Tony suddenly gasped. It was a spider! Tony _hated_ spiders.

Jethro immediately noticed the change in his little boy. An instant earlier he'd been laughing joyfully and pointing gleefully at the wall. Now his eyes were wide with fear and he was very, very tense. Jethro sat down on the edge of the bed. Frightened eyes glanced at him momentarily, but quickly darted around the room—looking towards the wall, the windows, and the door. When his eyes fell on the partially opened hospital room door, his eyes widened even more and he shrank back in the bed, paying no mind to the knifing pain in his head.

Two glowing eyes peered around the door, a long snout and the creatures ears were held back. Tony knew this dog…this was the dog that had tried to eat him the first night he'd been on the streets. Tony had ended up sleeping on a fire escape because the dog couldn't get to him. Of course the next morning the old lady living in the apartment that the fire escape was attached to began yelling and screaming at him to "get the hell off her porch" and "what was he damn thinking" because kids sleeping on fire escapes would surely give old women like her heart attacks.

Now the dog crept further into the room, his long white teeth were bared in a snarling grimace and a low growl rumbled in his throat. Tony whimpered in fear and backed away even farther, nearly falling off the other side of the bed. Jethro leaned across the bed and pulled Tony into his lap with one arm, hitting the call button with his other hand.

"_Can I help you?"_ a tinny voice echoed through the speaker on the bed.

"I NEED A NURSE!" Jethro yelled at the speaker.

"What is it Tony? What's wrong buddy? Talk to me…talk to Daddy tell me what it is," Jethro implored the child, squeezing him in a gentle hug.

Tony was clawing wildly at Jethro, trying to get away. Why was Jethro not trying to get away from the dog? The dog was going to eat them.

"N-nooo," Tony moaned, pulling his legs further up on the bed. The dog's snarling snout was sniffing up the side of the bed now—at any moment it was going to hop up onto the bed and when that happened…

Jethro hugged him tighter. "It's okay Tony, it's alright shhhh," he whispered. "Take it easy."

The monitors began to beep louder and more erratically as a nurse burst into the room. Tony shrieked in fear.

"What happened?" The nurse wanted to know. Jethro slid out from under Tony and helped him lay on the bed. Tony shrieked again and nearly climbed Jethro. Jethro sat back down and held Tony in his lap. The nurse was looking at the monitors, her eyes narrowed in concentration.

"I dunno, he was asleep and then he started giggling, and then laughing—I've never seen him laugh so hard. After that…after that he just panicked. He's absolutely terrified of something."

"Dog," Tony whispered.

"Dog?" The nurse was confused. So was Jethro.

"Dog…dog…dogdogdogdogdog…owww…" Tony moaned incoherently. His eyes were squeezed shut. His good leg kicked spastically at the edge of the bed. His left leg though…was completely rigid, and not moving.

"He's got a leg cramp," Jethro said, knowing what they looked like.

The nurse looked down at his leg for only a moment. She hit the call button. "Gonna get a couple of more nurses to come in," she said when Jethro looked at her curiously.

"_Can I help you?"_

"I need some assistance in here STAT," she snapped. "Bring me two millis of diazepam for a port."

"What dog Tony," Jethro was saying. Tony was still muttering about a dog.

"Dogdogdogdogdog…dog…gonna eat me…dogdog…go 'way," Tony begged.

Jethro looked around—there was no dog in the room. "He's hallucinating," he said quietly to the nurse.

She nodded. "It might help if you 'shoo the dog out,'" she suggested.

Jethro looked to where Tony's eyes were fixed on the edge of the bed. "Go on!" He spoke, using his best 'gunny voice,' and waved his hand at the spot near the edge of the bed. "Go on! Get outta here! Leave my Tony alone!" He made another swatting motion and stopped when Tony stilled. He smiled at his child. "It's alright now Tony," he said softly. "Dog's gone. Not gonna hurt you. But we aren't going to tell Sasha about that…think it might hurt her feelings," he brushed the backs of his fingers over Tony's cheek. Tony smiled faintly, his body still tense and rigid with fear.

Two more nurses came into the room. "What's going on?"

"ICP levels are elevated, he is tachycardic, and experiencing hallucinations and muscle contractions. Gimme the syringe," the first nurse said.

"I'll get a doctor," one of the nurses said and raced out of the room.

The first nurse looked at Jethro. "I'm going to give him a light sedative. It will calm him down and hopefully stop the hallucinations," she said softly. "It will act quickly, so just be warned," she inserted the syringe into the port before Jethro could respond.

A moment later Tony stilled and the shrieking stopped. The monitors slowly began quieting and slowing until only the heart monitor beeped—still faster than normal, but not surprising given the fear Tony had been experiencing. Tony's doctor came into the room. "Talk to me," he said to the nurse. For the moment he completely ignored Jethro.

"Well his dad here was saying that he was sleeping and then started giggling, then it progressed to laughing, and that progressed into a complete terror," the nurse said. His ICP and heart rate were both through the roof and he is experiencing some muscle cramping.

Jethro was sitting on the bed next to Tony, wiping the sweaty hair back from his partially uncovered forehead. Tony's eyes had closed down to slits, and beneath the slits were glazed green eyes that were watching him with their unfocused gaze. With his other hand, Jethro was trying to rub the muscle in Tony's thigh and get it to relax a bit. Tony reached a sluggish hand up and dropped it with a plop on top of Jethro's wrist.

"Hi buddy," Jethro whispered with a sad smile. "You with me now? You feeling better?"

Tony blinked heavily and nodded slowly. "Y-youuuuuuu squishsa…squishsa spi-spider for me? Onna wall?"

"Which wall buddy?"

The sluggish hand moved slowly, and pointed to the wall—now suddenly devoid of blinking dots and swirling stripes.

"That wall over there? By the window?"

"Mmmmhmmmmmm," Tony slurred softly, his eyes blinking heavily again.

"Big spider, eh?"

"Yeaaaaah," Tony whispered.

Jethro nodded. He picked up his novel off the rollaway table, walked over to the windowsill and pointed. "Here?"

The doctors and nurses looked at him curiously. Tony nodded.

Jethro nodded…and slammed the book down on the windowsill. Tony smiled…and fell asleep.

The doctor blinked. "What…the hell was that?"

Jethro shrugged. "Hell if I know," he chuckled. "But it made him feel better so I'm not going to question it."

xxx

"Have a seat Mr. DiNozzo," Teo said. He turned to Chuck. "Would you bring us some water please?"

Senior smiled when Chuck nodded, a confused look on his face, and left the room. Teo turned to the older man sitting across the table from him. He pulled out a legal pad and a pen. He wrote the date and labeled who he was meeting with, and set the pen down. He folded his hands neatly on the table and looked at his new client.

"I'm interested in what you have to say," he started softly. "I think no one has really listened to you up until now."

Senior leaned back in his chair a bit. "What do ya wanna know about?"

Teo leaned forward just a bit. "I want to know everything. What you've been charged with—why they charged you with it—and most importantly—whether or not you really did it."

Senior considered this young attorney with a critical eye. He appeared sincere. Could he trust him? Senior took a deep breath. "Do you think you can help me avoid a trial?"

"Why do you want to avoid a trial?"

Senior stood up and began pacing around. "I have a son," he began softly.

"Who is he with now?"

"The state gave temporary custody of him to a family down on Camp Pendleton," Senior said.

"That's kind of far out of the city," Teo commented.

"He uh…was found by this family…and they took him in…the court decided they could keep him until I can get him back."

"How was he found by the family?"

"They found him one day when I was not around…they took him in."

"Why weren't you around?"

"I never wanted children," Senior said softly.

Teo eyed him evenly. "Did you leave him somewhere?"

Senior's gaze dropped to the table and he finally nodded. "Yes," he said softly. "The rest area…near the beach…just outside of Camp Pendleton."

Teo made a note on the legal pad, but from where Senior was sitting he couldn't read it. Teo set the pen down again. "You've been charged with aggravated child abuse," he said softly.

Senior nodded.

Teo stared at him. Chuck came back with the water and Teo thanked him. Once the door closed and they were alone again, Teo spoke softly. "Can you tell me about that?"

Senior was quiet for a long time before he spoke. "We had this perfect life," he whispered. He picked at a thumbnail.

"Who is we?" Teo asked softly.

"My wife, Sophia, and I," Senior said quietly. "We were intelligent, respected, popular, wealthy…everything was perfect."

"What happened?" Teo took a sip of water.

Senior nibbled on the thumbnail for a moment. "We got pregnant," he finally whispered. "We didn't want children…they didn't fit into our world."

"So what did you do?"

"We kept it a secret. We didn't tell anyone. We hired a midwife and paid her for her silence and discretion."

"Why not put the baby up for adoption?"

Senior looked offended that Teo would even suggest such a thing. "In our…circle…it would have been socially unacceptable to give up a baby."

"So what did you do?"

"We built him a nursery—what else would you do for a baby?"

"How did you build a nursery and keep him a secret? Nurseries kind of…stand out."

Senior smiled. "Not this one."

Teo looked at Senior for a long moment. "I don't understand," he said. "I really need you to explain for me."

"We built him a nursery…and made it look like a storage room…in the garage. Complete with soundproof tiles so no sound could escape."

Teo thought he might be sick. "Out of sight out of mind, eh?" He smiled at his client.

Senior nodded. "Exactly."

Teo scribbled down some notes. "So you had a little boy that you hid from the world. And you were happily married."

"Yes. That's right."

"If there were going to be any charges here, I'd suggest neglect, but based on what you've told me, I wouldn't say child abuse yet. Have you told me everything?"

Senior was quiet for a long moment. "No," he said softly. "No you don't know the half of it."

"Tell me," Teo instructed. "It's the only way I can help you."

Senior explained how he'd broken Tony's leg with his foot, and again later with the golf club. He explained how after this happened, they'd put him in his room until the bone mended so that the neighborhood would not hear his screams or cries. He explained how he attempted to fix the broken leg the second time with the board. He told Teo how they'd hurt the child over and over again—how they starved him, yelled at him, beat him, tried to teach him to be silent and not bother anyone. They did everything they could to break him. But nothing worked. The child just…refused…to learn.

Teo took notes here and there, asked questions when needed, and drank water like an addict. Senior paced and talked—sometimes animatedly, other times despondently, offering only short answers. Teo guided the older man through descriptions of the abuse, of their refusal to take Tony to a doctor if he got sick, of Senior's relief when he finally abandoned his own child. They talked at length about the incident at the daycare, what happened with the children and specifically with Tony that day.

Teo flipped to a new page on the legal pad. There was only one charge left. "Mr. DiNozzo," Teo said quietly. "Can you tell me what happened to your wife?"

Senior stopped pacing and stared at Teo. "I don't want to talk about it," he said, shutting down.

Teo blinked. "Look, Mr. DiNozzo, sir…I understand that this is very difficult for you. And we have covered a lot of ground this afternoon…" _and Brandi is going to kill me for missing dinner,_ he thought to himself, "But we could get a call tonight that your trial starts tomorrow. If you want my help you're going to have to finish telling me. Please."

Senior was silent for a long moment. Finally he covered his eyes with one hand and took a shuddering breath. "I didn't mean for that to happen," he whispered brokenly.

Teo watched him, keeping quiet.

"Sophie and I…we always had an agreement that we wouldn't kill Tony," Senior said softly. "We wouldn't kill him because we'd reported his birth to the government for the tax break. We knew that if the child was suddenly gone there would be questions."

Teo nodded for him to continue, made a couple of notes, and still did not speak.

Senior continued. "Sophia was always so good about making sure we didn't draw attention to the fact that we had a child. On the rare occasions that he left the house…we worked hard to keep him from drawing attention to himself."

"How so?"

"We'd give him things…things to make him sleepy and quiet…things to keep him from disturbing other people. Believe me—this child was completely out of control. He was obnoxious and precocious and absolutely miserable to be around."

Teo made another note and nodded. "What happened to your wife," he asked plainly.

"I killed her," Senior whispered. He dropped to his knees. "Oh God in heaven forgive me please…I killed my wife…I killed my Sophie…" he covered his face in his hands and wept.

Teo watched him for several moments before checking his watch. He needed to get this show on the road. He fired off a quick text to Brandi that he would hopefully be home soon, but not to wait dinner on him.

"Why did you kill your wife?"

"I didn't mean to," Senior whispered brokenly. "I honest to God didn't mean to ever hurt Sophia."

"Tell me what happened," Teo said patiently.

"We were arguing…I'd just been informed that the FBI was freezing my assets for investigative purposes. She got angry. While we were arguing Tony came in."

"Ok," Teo said. "Then what?"

"We both told Tony to leave, and the little shit refused, wanting to make sure his mommy was ok." Senior chuckled darkly. "She hated being called Mommy. I hit Sophia because I was angry, and because she needed brought down a notch or two. Tony got between us and I saw the perfect moment to just end things with him. He wanted to play the hero…well I was more than obliged to let him go down in a blaze of glory."

Teo wrote something else on his pad. "Ok. Then what."

Senior stared up towards the ceiling, his gaze lost in the memory. "I got the fire poker. Heavy, iron fire poker…and I swung it at Tony."

"Did you hit him with it?"

"No," Senior whispered. "Sophia…shoved Tony out of the way. She took the hit herself."

"Why would she do that?"

"I broke the rule," Senior said. "I was going to kill him. The little bastard was going to get me charged with murder…Sophia saved me from that…but it was an accident—I mean if Tony would have only listened when we told him to leave…if he'd listened…Sophia would still be here," Senior whispered. He didn't realize the irony in his statement. "And that's why he has to pay. It's his damn fault. And he walked into that courtroom and he told that judge that we were mean and horrible parents. He is the one to blame—not me, not Sophia. Only Tony. He's the cause of all these problems."

"Is that why you shot him?"

Senior nodded. "Yes. Because he needs to pay for all the horrible things he's done. He's ruined my life. He took his mother's life. HIM. He is the problem."

Teo nodded patiently. "And now he wants you to go to trial for the things he did," he clarified.

Senior nodded. "He's got his head filled with things the Gibbses have told him. They've been gathering information for months to ruin me with. I never did anything to those people—I don't even know them! I don't understand why they hate me so much," he grumped. "They want to put me on trial…gonna smear my name and my reputation, and my wife's name and her reputation through the news, and they're going to tarnish my wife's memory."

"So that's why you don't want to go to trial. Not because you think you are innocent, and not because you don't want to go to prison?"

Senior nodded. He hadn't done anything wrong—he'd been defending his reputation, and his wife's memory. What was so wrong about that?

Teo leaned forward with his hands on the table and stared at his client. He smiled deviously. "What if I told you that we could avoid a trial?"

Senior's eyes narrowed. This was the first lawyer he'd heard mention this at all. "How the hell we gonna do that? Just not show up?"

"If this goes to trial the DA is going to be out for blood. It's an election year and he's going to want to use you as his meal ticket into office," Teo said. It wasn't a lie—it was fairly common knowledge that prisoners were pawns in the campaign games. "He's going to be all smiles for the camera and fancy suits, and using big words. And the Gibbses are going to be there, and they're going to be looking like a trophy family with their perfect children. And they are going to all work together to make you look like the evil villain."

Senior sighed. It was just as bad as he'd thought. "So what do we do?"

Teo smiled. "I want to call the DA and make a plea agreement."

Senior blinked. "What?"

"I want to call the DA and tell him you are pleading guilty."

"You've lost your goddamn mind!"

Teo smiled. "Hear me out. Now I've gotten you this far right? Been patient, listened to your entire story—and it _is_ quite a story. Now it's your turn to listen to me. You want to avoid the media frenzy?"

"Yes."

"You want to give the Gibbses the exact opposite of what they want—take away their ability to ruin your reputation and wife's memory?"

"Yes."

"You want to beat them at their own game?"

"With pleasure."

"Do you want to have the death penalty taken off the table? Because if this goes to trial, the DA will be on a witch hunt and you are the witch, my friend."

"I don't want the death penalty."

Teo smiled. "Then we need to type up a confession and have you sign it. And then we'll call the judge and the DA and you are going to plead guilty to lesser charges."

"What lesser charges?"

"Instead of First Degree Murder for Sophia and for the Bailiff, you will plead guilty to Felony Murder. Instead of First Degree Attempted Murder for Tony and the other Bailiff, you will plead guilty to Felony Attempted Murder. Unfortunately, there is no lesser charge for the child abuse charges. You will plead guilty to child abuse."

"And that will get me out of the death penalty?"

"Yes. If you plead guilty to these charges, they'll take it off the table."

"And I'll be able to avoid the media?"

"I'll request a gag order for everyone involved." There would be no discussion of this case with the media…there was a child involved. It was common knowledge. The hounds would listen for whatever tidbits they could gather, and then try to piece together the story in that way. "Once you are in prison, the media can't get to you. You'll have some time to lay low and let the story die down."

"Ha, that will be satisfactory. The Gibbses have spent a lot of time and money trying to put me down like an old dog. I'll show them. We'll beat them at their own game."

"Absolutely."

"And I can keep you on retainer?"

"Well…as a public defender, I'm not really available to be 'on retainer,'" Teo said.

"Too bad…you're one hell of a lawyer, kid. You're going to do big things."

"So you will agree then?"

"Work it out so I can sign the confession and plead guilty to the lesser charges. I won't go through a public trial. I have more dignity than that."

Teo smiled and held out his hand. "I'll make it happen, sir," he said. Senior shook his hand.

Teo quickly packed his things and let Chuck know that Senior needed moving back to the cellblock. As he walked outside, Teo took a deep breath and smiled. He felt like he needed a shower, just from being in the room with the man. He thought back over the conversation he'd had, the stories he'd heard, and he smiled.

"Got you, you sonofabitch."

TBC…


	29. Hospital 3

_Thanks as always to my wonderful friend and best-beta-ever! Gotgoats—you rock baby! Love you! Special thanks also to everyone who has alerted, favorited, commented, and read this story! _

**Daddy's Boy  
><strong>**Chapter 29: Hospital 3**

As Teo drove home, he thought back over the events of the afternoon and the story he had been told. He shook his head in disbelief as he thought of how Senior blamed everything on his son—that precious little boy who'd been lying so pitifully in the hospital after his own father had shot him in the head. There was nothing malicious, obnoxious or unpleasant about the little one as far as he could tell. The child had been smiling and concerned about the feelings of others—even encouraging Brandi not to cry—despite hit plight. The child had been unwanted since the moment he was conceived, and yet he was a sweet, caring, compassionate little boy. If anyone had ever earned the right to be mean or bitter it would be this child…Teo thought people could learn a lot from him.

Teo thought the little boy had deserved justice the moment he saw him. No one should ever hurt a child like this. But he'd felt as though his hands were tied…until Claire had popped up looking for volunteers for the case. He'd heard the talk around the water cooler—no one wanted to be stuck with that case. He knew he wouldn't have any competition for it. And he was confident that once he spoke with his client, built some trust, had a conversation or two with him, he felt certain that he could save Little Tony from a lot of grief.

He pulled into the driveway and smiled. The child was going to get his happy ending. And that made Teo's day.

Brandi was tapping her foot when Teo walked into the house. Her arms were crossed and her jaw was set. She did not look happy at all.

"Hi honey," Teo said softly. He glanced at the table where dinner sat—cold—waiting for him.

He hadn't texted her early enough.

He sighed. "I know you're mad," he began.

"Where were you?"

"I was in a meeting," Teo said. "With Anthony DiNozzo Senior."

Brandi gasped. She'd been out of the office most of the day, and had missed Teo's declaration that he would take the DiNozzo case. "Why were you meeting with him?"

"I'm representing him," he said.

Her face filled with horror and she covered her mouth, staring at her fiancé. Who was this man? What was he thinking.

"We got him, Sweetheart," Teo said. "He confessed. I talked him into writing a full confession and he's going to plead guilty to lesser charges. There isn't going to be a trial. By this time tomorrow, it should be all over."

Brandi blinked. Had she heard him correctly? "How did you get him to agree to it? I tried for weeks and all I got was abuse from him!"

Teo pulled her into a hug. "I played his game…on his terms…he wanted more than anything to beat the Gibbses and blame Tony for everything wrong in his life. I convinced him that by confessing it would avoid the trial—which he believes is what the Gibbses have wanted all along."

Brandi shook her head, bemused. "But they don't want to be dragged through a trial at all…they only want to keep Little Tony safe."

"And they are." Teo smiled. "And Mr. DiNozzo is going to help them do that."

Brandi smiled. "So I got a phone call today from Judge Sorrells."

Teo blinked. "Oh? What'd he say?"

"He wanted me to come to a meeting with him."

"About the case?"

"Mmmm sort of," Brandi said. "Let's eat…we can reheat it in the microwave. I'll explain everything."

Over dinner, Brandi described how the judge had expressed his grief over his part in what had happened. He assured Brandi that the experience had changed him, and never again would he give a suspected child abuser the benefit of the doubt. He would become the hardest judge in the district for dealing with abusers—he would dole out the harshest punishments, and he would have zero tolerance for violence in his courtroom.

Brandi told Teo how the judge had hooked her up with the advocate's office with Child Protective Services with promises of a career there if she wanted it. Teo smiled and was delighted that his beautiful girlfriend was seeing one of her dreams come true—she'd wanted to be a children's advocate for longer than he'd known her.

"I just can't believe you're going to represent him—and that you talked him into confessing," Brandi exclaimed, going back to the previous topic.

"He's not only confessing—he's excited to do so," Teo said with a laugh.

"Does he understand how long he'll be in prison?"

Teo shrugged. "I explained that he would be put in prison if he confessed. But Mr. DiNozzo didn't ask me for how long. He asked if he would be there long enough for the media frenzy to die down."

"He's worried about the reporters?"

"That's the other big thing. He's completely consumed with protecting his reputation and his wife's reputation. He doesn't want the big media smear."

Brandi shook her head in shock and awe. "You are an amazing attorney," she said with a seductive, sexy smile. "A brilliant genius."

And that night, Teo got a taste of how Brandi treated brilliant geniuses.

xxx

The next morning, Shannon burst into the room with the rest of the family in tow. "Is he alright," she asked urgently in a loud whisper. Jethro had called her at the hotel the night before, once they'd gotten Tony settled back down, and had explained what happened.

Jethro sipped his coffee. "He's okay," he said quietly. "Still asleep."

"What time is the doctor coming in?"

Jethro shrugged. "Don't know yet," he said. "Probably going to let him sleep a little bit this morning, I would guess. After the reaction he had to the painkillers last night they had to dope him up pretty heavily it looks like. He's barely moved all night."

Kelly crawled up in her daddy's lap. It was still early—even by her standards, and she was sleepy. Jethro wrapped her in a warm hug and she laid her head on his chest. "Goodmorning Baby Girl," he said, pressing a kiss to her head.

She yawned. "Morning Daddy." To everyone's surprise she closed her eyes and fell right back to sleep.

Shannon smiled sadly at her daughter. "She hasn't been sleeping well," she said softly. "This has been hard for her too."

"Maybe one of us should go back home with her?"

Shannon thought for a moment. "Maybe," she admitted. "We could keep either Jackson or Mom here, and bring the other one back to base with us."

Jethro looked up at his dad. "Whatcha think Dad?"

"I'm here to help, Son," Jackson said. "I'll do whatever you need me to do."

"Me too," JoAnne said with a nod.

"Thanks," Jethro said.

Tony shifted suddenly on the bed. Shannon moved to Tony's side and lowered the bedrail so she could sit on the edge of her son's bed. She stayed quiet so she didn't wake him, but waited to see what he would do. Slowly his uncovered eye blinked open and he looked around, confused.

"Hi baby," Shannon said. "How you feeling?"

Tony yawned and then shrugged one shoulder slowly. "I-I's sleepy," he whispered.

She kissed his cheek. "You can go back to sleep if you want," she said. "It's still early. Even Kelly went back to sleep."

Tony yawned again. "Where hers sleepin'?"

"She's sleeping on Daddy's lap."

Tony shifted in the bed and looked over at Jethro. He waved sluggishly. Jethro smiled and waved back. "Kelly can—" he yawned, "—sleep in my bed…'f she wants to," Tony said sleepily. He scooted his hips over a bit to make room for his sister, but didn't move his head.

"Can I help you Tony?" Shannon asked gently.

Tony nodded and he tensed slightly when Shannon slid an arm under Tony's shoulders, the crook of her elbow supporting his head and she moved him slightly. He blinked in surprise when it didn't hurt too much. Jethro stood up and carried the sleeping Kelly over to Tony's bed and laid her down on it gently. Kelly blinked her eyes open for a moment, smiled at Tony, then resettled and went back to sleep.

Jackson and JoAnne excused themselves to go to the cafeteria and Jethro and Shannon settled on the couch. In moments, everyone in the room was sound asleep.

xxx

When Jacob Stone, the ADA, called the district attorney, Howard Handel, and told him what had happened in Judge Sorrell's courtroom during a child abuse/murder trial…the DA had nearly squealed. He was sorry that the child had been injured, and he was more sorry that the Bailiff had died protecting the little boy, but he was overjoyed at the timing—it was an election year! He'd been looking for that perfect case—that perfect trial—to prove his heroism to the great city of Los Angeles. His ratings had dropped over the last year or so…the voters apparently didn't think that Handel was handling things well.

So now he was fast approaching the election—November was not far off; it seemed it never was—and Handel needed something fantastic to cement his office for him next term.

He was prancing around his office, barking orders, and strutting like a peacock on Wednesday morning when the phone rang.

"DA's office," he answered briskly. He was a busy man—what were people thinking, calling him on the phone? Didn't they know he had better things to do?

"_Mr. Handel, my name is Teo Martinez. I'm an attorney with the public defender's office, representing Anthony DiNozzo Senior."_

Ah. So this was the kid who had volunteered to take the case. His new sparring partner. Handel smiled. He was going to enjoy breaking this rookie.

"Goodmorning Mr. Martinez! Or can I call you Teo. Teo what can I do for you this morning? And don't tell me you're asking for a continuance; I won't agree to it. I haven't got the time."

"_I'm calling to tell you we'd like to meet. My client wants to make a plea agreement."_

Plea agreement? This was supposed to be the trial of the year—if not the decade! He couldn't do a plea agreement!

"Mr. Martinez you must be insane if you think we are not going to let this case go to trial! The people need to hear what really happened! The people deserve to know! The people deserve to see justice served!"

"_I agree that the people deserve justice, sir,"_ Teo said with a bite in his voice. _"But my client also has rights. And he is well within his rights to make a confession. Gives justice to the people a bit faster than we expected doesn't it? And that is what you want, after all, right?"_ Teo said sweetly.

Handel didn't answer. He made a shooing motion to the other people in his office and sat down and put a hand to his forehead. "Of course that's what I want," he said weakly.

"_Excellent,"_ Teo said. _"I have just learned that the arraignment for his new charges will be this afternoon at 2pm."_

"Fantastic," Handel said morosely. He could see the election receding quicker than a wave on the shore.

"See you then!"

xxx

The doctor entered Tony's hospital room around 8am and smiled sadly when he saw that everyone, sans the grandparents, was asleep. Jethro's eyes clicked open the instant the door clicked shut and he gently shook Shannon's shoulder. "Doctor's here," he whispered. Shannon sat bolt upright, and rubbed a hand over her face trying to get her eyes to focus. She was exhausted—they all were.

"Good morning Doctor," Shannon said, standing up and shaking hands with him.

"Good morning Mrs. Gibbs," he said. "How's our little guy doing? I see he's having a slumber party."

"That's Kelly," Shannon said. "Is it ok for her to be there? Tony wanted her to sleep there."

"Totally fine—for naps of course—not for all night."

Shannon nodded.

Jethro spoke up. "He slept all night," he offered. "Didn't have any nightmares that I heard, or show any kinda evidence that he was upset."

"His levels are all back to normal this morning," the doctor observed, looking at the various screens over Tony's bed. "Poor guy, he had quite a scare last night, didn't he?"

Jethro nodded. "Was so weird the way it happened—just all of a sudden," he said. "Scared him—scared me too." Shannon squeezed his hand.

"What we saw was a pretty severe reaction to the pain medication. Sometimes when a person takes pain meds like this it causes some confusion, but the hallucinating, along with the increase in his ICP levels and his heart rate, were a bit concerning. In the future it would be wise to try and stick with non-narcotic painkillers as much as possible."

"Do they make those?" Jethro wanted to know.

"Yes," the doctor said. "Some very good ones in fact."

"The reason I ask…Tony's supposed to have some pretty extensive surgery on his leg this summer," Jethro said.

The doctor nodded. "I see here that we made a note that we want to do a bone graft to repair his eye socket, at the same time. It would be ideal for him to only have to have one more surgery, wouldn't it?" he smiled at the young couple, who both nodded.

"I had another question," Jethro said, blushing slightly and looking sheepishly at Shannon. "If he's not having surgery until July, and this is only May…will his face be alright until then?"

"I called Dr. Trexler yesterday," Shannon said, "and he said he's going to try to move the surgery up. He's supposed to call me back today and let me know if we can do it sooner."

The doctor nodded. "Tony has a severe orbital rim fracture. When the bullet hit here," the doctor pointed at his own face where the bullet struck Tony, "it bounced off of the bone in his face, shattering it in its wake. The x-ray," he looked around, "that I apparently left on my desk and will grab in just a moment, shows that the bone pretty much looks like bread crumbs. It's shattered. We're going to take shavings from the bone in his leg when he has his leg surgery, and we're going to use that to repair his eye socket."

Jethro felt his insides quake at the doctor's words. It sounded horrible and made him want to be physically ill that his boy would be in so much pain.

"In the mean time…" Shannon said, "will he be in the hospital or…"

"Oh no, we're going to send him home in the next few days. I would recommend getting a bicycle helmet for him to wear. Does he fall a lot?"

"Not a lot…sometimes his leg wobbles and he falls, but we try to catch him as often as we can," Jethro said.

"Does your home have steps in it?"

"Yes," they both said softly.

The doctor nodded. "I'd have him wear it all the time. If he's laying on the couch watching tv and wants to take it off while he's laying on the couch, then that would be fine. He doesn't need to sleep in it unless he has trouble with falling out of bed."

"What about school?"

"Is he in Kindergarten?"

"Preschool."

"I'd…Honestly if he was my kid and if I could swing it, I'd keep him home until after all the surgeries are done," the doctor said honestly.

"Will we need to get the helmet before he leaves the hospital?"

"Um…I don't think so…just pick one up on your way home or shortly after. Tony's not going to feel like running around and playing too much for the next little bit I'd wager."

"Do we need to expect headaches and that type of thing," Shannon wanted to know.

"I would think so," the doctor said with a nod.

The door opened and JoAnne and Jackson came in. "Oh! Are we interrupting," JoAnne said quietly.

"Not at all Mom, come in. Doctor, meet my mother, JoAnne, and Jethro's father, Jackson."

They all greeted each other with smiles and handshakes and the two parents sat down on the couch. The doctor glanced at Tony's chart again. "Well. Since we're all here…what do ya say we take off the bandages and see how Tony's vision is?"

Jethro's eyes widened. Had he somehow missed… "What do you mean? Is Tony going to be blind in one eye?"

"I don't think he would be blind," the doctor said. "There may be some vision loss in his periphery, but there won't be total blindness. He may need glasses."

Shannon looked at her husband, concerned. "Honey are you alright?"

Jethro ran his hands through his hair. "I um…I need a minute. Can you wait, please, just a minute?"

The doctor nodded and Jethro rushed out of the room.

"I'll go find him," Jackson said quietly. He got up and walked out of the room, pausing for a moment in the hallway trying to decide which direction Leroy had gone in. Seeing the door for the stairs only a few feet away, Jackson decided to start there.

Jethro was sitting on the steps, knees drawn up close to his chest, head bowed low. Jackson didn't speak, just moved to sit next to his boy on the steps, their shoulders touching. Desolation rolled off of Jethro in waves. The two men sat like that for a couple of minutes before Jethro looked up. Jackson had thought that his boy was crying, but what he saw when Jethro lifted his head, was pure, unadulterated, unmasked anger.

Jackson wrapped a soothing arm around his son's shoulders. "Talk to me Leroy," he said gently. "We can't go back in there and let Tony see you so angry. He'll think you're mad at him."

Jethro's head bowed again. "I know," he said softly. "But I will make a promise to you, Dad. Right here. Right now. If that sonofabitch ever…" his voice cracked, "if he ever touches my boy again," his voice dropped to a whisper, "he won't live to see the day after. I'll kill him myself with my own two hands."

"Leroy…" his father's voice had dropped to a horrified whisper.

"I know Dad. I know you didn't raise me to be that way. But every time we let the system handle it…we always…he always gets to hurt him again. And no one gets to hurt my boy anymore. He's been hurt enough."

Jackson squeezed his boy's shoulders firmly. "Listen to me. That sonofabitch is going to go on trial, and he is going to be found guilty for the crimes he's committed against that child. He will go away to prison and he won't be able to hurt Tony ever again."

Jethro's hands tightened into fists and he cracked his knuckles. "He'd better not," he said threateningly.

Jackson nodded. "Come on," he stood up and offered his hand to Jethro. "The doctor wants to uncover Tony's face."

"We maybe should take Kelly out," Jethro said softly. "She might…it could be…if it's bad…"

"JoAnne and I will take her downstairs for a snack, how about that?"

They went back to Tony's hospital room and Jethro smiled when he saw Kelly and Tony were both awake. Kelly had moved off of Tony's bed, and they had managed to get Tony sitting up a bit more with the bed supporting him. The concussion was by no means gone, but was beginning to fade a bit.

"Mr. Gibbs I didn't mean to upset you," the doctor said.

Jethro held up a hand. "Oh no. That wasn't your fault. I think everything just caught up with me for a minute. I'm ok now," he glanced at Shannon who looked concerned.

"Kelly you wanna go get some chocolate milk?" Jackson held out his hand. Kelly nodded and slid off the couch. JoAnne rose to follow them.

"I's wants some," Tony said softly.

Jethro smiled. "Dad will you all bring Tony some chocolate milk back?" He looked at the doctor. "He can have some right?"

The doctor nodded. "Of course! Milk would actually probably be good right now. He needs the calcium."

Jackson nodded and smiled. "One gigantic chocolate milk coming right up!" Tony giggled as Jackson left the room with the others.

The doctor smiled at everyone. "Are we ready?"

"What's we gonna do?" Tony asked softly. "You's a gonna hurt me?"

"Nope," the doctor said gently. "I'm going to use some scissors and I'm going to cut the bandage off of your face. Won't hurt a bit—might tickle some."

"Promise?"

"I promise," the doctor said. He glanced at Jethro and Shannon and picked up the first aid scissors. "Here we go," he said.

Tony squeezed his uncovered eye shut as he felt the scissors begin to cut the gauze off of his face.

TBC…


	30. Flying Blind

_Thanks as always to the wonderful Gotgoats for your awesome support and encouragement, headslaps when I need them, prodding when I need that, and smiles and laughter the whole way. You, my dear, are an angel! Love ya!_

**Daddy's Boy  
><strong>**Chapter 30: Flying Blind**

Judge Mayers looked down his nose at Anthony DiNozzo Senior, standing at the table with his attorney, Teo Martinez. "I have a statement here, signed by Mr. Anthony DiNozzo Senior, confessing to the crimes of felony murder, felony attempted murder, and child abuse. Is this your statement?"

Senior puffed out his chest with pride, proud of himself for screwing over the Gibbs family and for not giving his son what he wanted most in life. "It is, Your Honor."

"Your Honor, with all due respect," the District Attorney, Howard Handel, started to speak. "The DA's office has only just received a copy of the statement this morning. We have not yet had time to go over all of the finer details of—"

"Mr. Handel, this statement is a signed confession from the defendant. I have only just gotten possession of it moments ago, and have already read it. If you have not done your homework before class begins, that is not my, or this court's problem."

The DA blushed and sat back down, quickly scanning the statement that would be his undoing—there was no way he could win the next election unless he could get this case to go to trial. But…reading over it…DiNozzo had left no shell unturned, no T uncrossed, no I not dotted…he'd covered it all…in depth…in detail…

Howard stood back up. "Your Honor, the State would like to seek the maximum penalties for these heinous crimes." He smiled shark-like.

The judge fought not to roll his eyes. As if they would seek the minimum punishments. "Noted," he said.

Handel stared at the judge for a long moment before sitting down, fighting the urge to flop down like a petulant teenager.

"Mr. DiNozzo this court accepts your statement of confession. Your sentencing date will be on Monday morning at 11am," Judge Mayers banged the gavel, "This court is adjourned."

From the back of the courtroom, a man smiled in his seat. His hands were folded in his lap and no one gave him a second thought as he watched people file out. It was almost time to act…he had to make sure his timing was right, or his actions could be misinterpreted entirely. And that wouldn't do at all.

xxx

Jackson and JoAnne watched as Kelly strolled through the cafeteria, looking for the cooler where the cartons of chocolate milk were kept. Poor kid had spent enough time here that she knew her way around the cafeteria without any help. They quickly paid for the cartons of milk—two for Kelly and two for Tony—and went to a table to sit down.

"Shouldn't we take the milk back to Tony?" Kelly wanted to know.

"We'll take it to him in just a few minutes. Let's give the doctor time to finish what he's doing," Jackson suggested.

"What's the doctor doing to him?" Kelly wanted to know, opening her milk carton.

"He's taking the bandages off of Tony's head," JoAnne said softly. "He's going to see how Tony's eye is doing."

"Will he be able to see out of it?"

"The doctor thinks he will mostly be able to see out of it," JoAnne told her granddaughter honestly. "He might not be able to see sideways very good though. He might have to get glasses."

Kelly's eyes widened. "They can fix it though, right? I mean they can make him be able to see again?"

"We don't know baby," Jackson said sadly. "But we'll figure it out, and even if not, we'll still love Tony just as much."

"Why would Tony's real daddy hurt him like that? My daddy would never hurt me like that. Or Tony either! I don't understand," Kelly said softly, confused by the overwhelming violence in her little world all of a sudden.

"We don't know why either, Sweetheart," JoAnne said quietly. "I guess…I guess sometimes people are just mean and do bad things to people."

Kelly looked at her grandparents with tears in her eyes. "But why Tony," she whispered. "He's the best person I know…well…one of the best…next to you guys and Mommy and Daddy…I don't know why he had to get hurt."

The grownups had no answers for her quietly spoken question. They didn't understand it either.

xxx

Tony stayed very still with his eyes squeezed shut and listened to the horrible snipping sound that the scissors made. He could feel the coolness of the blade on his skin and he squeezed his hands into fists to keep from flinching away.

"Take it easy," the doctor cooed softly, "we're almost done."

"Uhh-h-huhhh," Tony murmured his agreement shakily.

"Wait," Jethro said suddenly. The doctor stopped snipping. "Can we put him in my lap? Might help him relax a bit."

The doctor smiled. "Of course."

It took a minute to get everyone situated on the bed, but eventually Tony was sitting in Jethro's lap, the left side of his face pressed into Jethro's chest and his eyes were closed again. Jethro brushed one hand over Tony's head, lightly helping hold him still, and the other hand was wrapped across his back, offering comfort and support to his littlest.

"Ok," Jethro said. "We're ready now. Sorry."

"Not at all," the doctor said gently. "Are you ready Tony?"

"Yeah," Tony whispered.

"Ok. Now we're going to take those bandages off. Once I take them off I want you to keep your eyes closed until I tell you to open them ok?"

"Ok," Tony whispered.

The doctor patted Tony's shoulder gently. "Mrs. Gibbs if you would turn the lights off please…"

"Of course Doctor," she said.

The doctor began snipping again and this time Tony was much more relaxed. The doctor gently lifted away the thick padded bandage and set it aside. Shannon's eyes widened and a hand rose to her mouth. She'd been a nurse for nearly a decade, and in that time had seen a lot of things…maybe it was because Tony was her child…it broke her heart.

From where Jethro was sitting, he couldn't see Tony's face, but he could see Shannon's reaction. He watched his tough-as-steel wife cover her mouth and blink away tears that suddenly formed, and Jethro felt his gut begin to churn.

The doctor lightly touched Tony's face here and there, asking if he could feel him touching his face, asking if it hurt. Tony could feel the doctor touching his face for the most part…around his forehead and eye socket it got a bit numb. It only hurt a little bit when the doctor touched him.

"Are you ready to open your eyes Tony?"

"No," Tony whispered, his eyes still squeezed shut.

The doctor blinked. "Why not?"

"I wanna see my Jethro," Tony said softly. "But I's sitting on him so's I won't be able a see him."

The doctor smiled and nodded for them to shift around again. Jethro's eyes widened when he saw his little boy's face. It was bruised from somewhere up above his hairline, all the way down to his jaw, a deep bruise, nearly black in color. His eye was swollen at the lid, but where the bullet had hit, there was an indention beneath the stitches that were barely visible next to the dark bruising on the skin. Tony's eye was nearly swollen shut. In the center of his forehead, right at his hairline the ICP Monitor was still attached.

Jethro swallowed hard and then schooled his features carefully. He looked at the doctor and nodded that he was ready for Tony to open his eyes. If Tony opened his eyes and saw Jethro looking afraid, then he'd be afraid. But if Jethro looked confident that everything would be ok, then Tony would stay calmer.

"Ok Tony," the doctor said softly. "Your Jethro is right in front of you…open your eyes and tell me what you can see."

xxx

The man in the back of the courtroom stood up and moved to the aisle as Teo approached.

"Mr. Martinez!"

"Yes? I'm sorry, but do I know you?"

"No," said the man honestly. He was well dressed in a tasteful suit and silk tie. His shoes were shined and his hair was combed and stylish. He held out his hand. "My name is George Mitchell, with the Mitchell-Young Family Services Legal Firm."

Teo shook his hand. "Nice to meet you, sir. What can I do for you?"

Mr. Mitchell smiled. "Could we go somewhere and have a cup of coffee and talk?"

Teo pulled out his calendar and did a quick check. "Sure I'm free for a couple of hours. There's a diner down the street."

"Perfect. Meet you there in ten?"

"Sure ok," Teo said. He wondered who this man was, and what the hell he wanted with a rookie from the public defender's office.

xxx

Senior sat in his cell, munching happily on his lunch. Martha, the guard on duty today, was surprised that she hadn't heard any grumbling from Mr. DiNozzo about the quality (or lack thereof) of the food today. He drank the watered down tomato soup and gnawed on the very tough and chewy cheese sandwich without complaint.

The night before, he'd made a decision. He was going to make the best of his bad situation. He was going to eat the food with no complaining, sleep on the hard bed without any groaning or grumping. He was not going to be violent, would keep his temper, would be a model prisoner. Teo had told him he'd be in prison long enough to let the media frenzy die down. Senior figured that wouldn't be longer than a year, maybe two at the most.

He could do this. He took a bite of sandwich and chewed methodically. He would show them. He would be back and there wouldn't be a thing they could do to stop him.

xxx

Tony slowly cracked his eyes open. The light hurt his eye that had been covered up and he opened it very slowly. His eye quickly began to water, but it hurt to touch it, so he didn't wipe it. He opened it a bit further and blinked it a couple of times. He could see Jethro in front of him with his good eye…but his other eye…Jethro looked blurry and it looked like there was two of him! He blinked again a little harder and stared, trying to understand what he was looking at.

"Tony?" Jethro spoke softly in the dimly lit room. "What do ya see Bud?"

"I's…I's thinking…m-maybe mine eye is not done getting better yet," the child said softly, blinking some more.

"Can you see out of both eyes Tony?" the doctor's voice was quiet.

"I's can see Jethro real good outta my good eye, but the other one that got hurted…I's only can see a fuzzy two Jethros…I loves my Jethro but I's only wants one of him." Tony's voice wobbled with fear and confusion a bit when he spoke.

"I want you to follow my finger," the doctor said softly. He held up one finger and Tony stared at the tip of it as best as he could. The doctor slowly moved his finger to the left and Tony's eyes followed it. He moved it up and Tony's eyes followed it, moved it down and Tony's eyes followed it. When he moved his finger off to the right Tony's eyes widened and he bit his lip.

"What's wrong Tony?"

"I…I can't…why it's dark over there," Tony said, turning his head and looking over, surprised to see that it wasn't dark at all. He moved his eyes again and the dark was back, off to his right again.

"Well that eye got hurt pretty bad, and then it's been resting for a couple of days. It might take it some time to wake back up ok?" The doctor spoke gently, trying to reassure Tony without scaring him.

"Kay," Tony whispered. He looked up at Jethro and Shannon, frightened. "What's if it don't wakes up?"

The doctor smiled sadly and patted him on the shoulder. "We're going to do everything we can ok?"

Tony nodded, but the tears were already beginning to fall. "I's stupid," he whispered. "My eye even stupid."

Jethro leaned forward and hooked his hands under Tony's arms and dragged him gently to his lap. "You aren't stupid Tony. None of this is your fault." Tony buried his face in Jethro's chest and began to cry softly and Jethro hugged him, pressing kisses to his hair and running his hands soothingly up and down his back.

The doctor was sympathetic. "Poor little guy…" he thought for a minute. "The concussion could be making him a bit more emotional than normal also," he said softly. He realized he'd not ever seen Tony cry—despite all of the pain he'd been in.

"It's ooook Tony," Jethro whispered. Tony took a shuddering, sobbing breath, and let it out slowly, beginning to doze off. He'd worn himself out. Jethro hugged him a little bit tighter. "Gonna be ok."

Jethro looked down at his child, watching as the little one drifted into an exhausted sleep. Shannon joined him at his side and ran a hand over his hair. "Our poor baby," she said sadly. "I wish the universe would give him a break and just let him be a happy little boy for a change."

Jethro nodded. "You and me both," he agreed.

Shannon kissed both of them. "I'm going to step out in the hall to head off the troops," she said softly.

Jethro nodded. "I'm going to lay down with Tony, see if he can get some rest, keep him calm, that sort of thing."

Shannon nodded and headed out the door. Jethro shifted carefully until he and Tony were stretched out on the bed. He didn't even realize it when he fell asleep.

xxx

Teo settled into the booth with the turquoise plastic-leather seat cushions and tacky turquoise formica table. The jukebox was permanently set on bubblegum music. The diner was old, decorated with cheesy decorations, and the salt shakers needed refilling. Teo loved this place—he came here as often as possible.

Glenda, one of the waitresses, walked over and smiled at Teo. "Hey Butter Bean," she greeted him warmly.

"Hi Glenda," he returned her smile.

"Want your regular today?" Regular was a double cheese burger, hold the onions, scattered hashbrowns, add mustard with a large coffee, double cream, double sugar.

"Not today, I only want the coffee," Teo said.

Glenda nodded and turned to George. "And what about you? What can I get for you?"

"Uh…I'll have whatever he's having," George responded, obviously unfamiliar with the environment of the…"affordable" dining establishment.

"Coming right up babies," she said, turning and walking away. Teo smiled and George blinked in horror, trying to understand what had just happened.

George looked at Teo and smiled. "I wanted to ask you some questions."

Teo nodded. "I'm all ears, but I reserve the right to not answer."

George looked at him for a long moment then smiled. Teo's face remained neutral and he was very calm, not nervous at all. Interesting.

"I was curious about how you got the DiNozzo case."

"I volunteered for it down at the PD's office," Teo said honestly.

"Why would you volunteer for such a case? Fame? Fortune? Prestige? Better your career?"

Teo shook his head. "Nope. Saw an opportunity to help out a bad situation, and took the chance."

"You took that chance realizing that your entire career could be on the line?"

"I took that chance realizing that if I didn't take the chance a little boy's life could be at stake. I couldn't risk that."

Mitchell smiled, a wide toothy grin. "My boy," he said proudly, as a father would say to his son, "what if you were given the opportunity to save children much like you have done, but without having to risk your livelihood on it?"

Glenda arrived and set the coffees down in front of them. Teo thanked her and George nodded silently. "Let me know if you need anything else honey," Glenda said sweetly. Then she was gone, off to check on the other patrons.

Teo took a sip of coffee. "Forgive me if I sound jaded," he started. "But working as a PD will do that to you. How would that even be possible?"

George took a sip of his coffee and smiled. "That's good coffee," he commented. Then he looked at Teo. "The professionals at Mitchell-Young Family Services Legal Firm make it their business to protect families and children though the legal process. Situations like the DiNozzo case are rarely that severe, but it is right up our alley of expertise."

"You do understand that I am Mr. DiNozzo's defense attorney, right?" Teo half smiled and took a long sip of the hot brew.

Mitchell smiled. "I do realize that. But I also realized that until you came on the scene there was going to be a huge grand-standing trial. And now all of a sudden, Mr. DiNozzo is pleading guilty."

Teo blinked, his mask perfect. "I don't understand the connection," he said innocently.

George Mitchell smiled. Oh this kid was perfect. "I know who's side your playing on," he said quietly, but with a smile. "And I think it's genius. And I want you to come to work at my firm."

Teo stared at him, surprised by his bluntness. "You're…you're recruiting me?"

"Damn right I am. As soon as this sentencing hearing is over, you can come work for me. To do so beforehand might lead to some odd speculation that I'm sure you'd like to avoid if possible."

"Yes," Teo said. "So…if I was interested, what are you going to give me? Aside from helping children and families, what benefits are you going to offer me? Because I think I'm doing alright helping children and families right where I'm at now."

"How much do you make in a year?" George asked suddenly.

"That's none of your business," Teo said firmly.

George smiled. Kid was smart. He liked him. Genuinely wanted him to come and work for his firm and try to make the world a better place. "Whatever you're making there…triple it. I want you kid. You're a good lawyer, an honest lawyer, and you give a crap. In this industry, that's huge. I'm really impressed by you."

Teo looked at him for a long moment. "I want a week to think about it," he said finally.

George smiled. "Absolutely. Take whatever time you need."

Teo smiled. "I appreciate your offer," he said, barely able to wait to call Brandi. "I will let you know something soon."

Without another word Teo got up and left, waving to Glenda on his way out. A moment later she dropped the check in front of George. George blinked and then smiled, shaking his head. The kid was smart…and it looked like George was paying for the coffee today.

xxx

The doctor came out of Tony's room and Shannon called out to him. "Doctor!"

"Yes, Mrs. Gibbs?"

Shannon leaned against the wall outside Tony's room, and ran her hands up and down her arms. She bit her lip and tried to keep control of her emotions, but _dammit_ she wanted it all better.

"Um…sorry," she wiped her eyes, "I was just…just wondering…Tony said he can't see out of the side of his eye…" a couple more tears fell and dripped off of her chin and onto her t-shirt.

The doctor nodded and took a step closer to her. "Yes, that's what he said," he affirmed.

Shannon ran a hand across the top of her head and pulled nervously on one of the low pigtails she had in her hair today…twisting her fingers nervously through her auburn locks, she looked at him. "Does that mean he's blind?"

"Mrs. Gibbs you said before that you are a nurse?"

"Yes," Shannon said slowly.

"What would you deduce based on the information Tony shared with us? What is your professional opinion," he asked gently.

"My professional opinion doesn't matter right now because that little boy in there is not just some random kid off the street that I have no connection to and may or may not ever see again that I am treating in the PICU. That little boy in there is MY. SON. And I want to know whether or not you think that him not being able to see out of the right side of his eye means that he has permanent peripheral blindness or not!"

The doctor looked taken aback for a moment before stroking his chin thoughtfully. "You're right," he said. "I'm sorry."

Shannon rubbed her forehead wearily. "Just…talk to me like I'm a mother…not like I'm a nurse. Pretend I'm stupid, but don't pull any punches." She looked at him. "I am far. from. stupid."

The doctor knew she was no idiot. He'd figured that out early on—both of these parents were highly intelligent individuals, with highly intelligent kids.

"Mrs. Gibbs…I'm going to tell you—as a mother—that there is the possibility of permanent peripheral vision loss. However, we won't know for sure until we run some tests on his vision."

Shannon stared at him. "Will they hurt?"

"No, most of it will resemble standard eye testing."

Shannon nodded. "I guess my other question…if my little boy really does have some blindness, how do we…how do we approach that with him? How do you explain to your little boy that he might not be able to see like all of the other kids?"

A thud behind Shannon had her turning instantly. There stood Kelly, eyes wide, jaw slack, milk cartons on the floor where her listless fingers had dropped them.

"Tony's blind?" she squeaked.

TBC…


	31. Letters, Questions & Sentences

_**Author's Note:**_ _ If I get the legal stuff wrong, it's my fault, not Mdemeran's! She has given me excellent guidance, but all the mistakes are my own. Special Thanks to Mdemeran, and to KDJane for your tips and advice on this chapter! _

_And as always, thanks to Gotgoats. I think I'd have given up on this crazy-outta-control-story a long time ago if it wasn't for her hehehhee…it would probably have been the Terminal Orders One Shot instead of the Terminal Orders SERIES. You are amazing and awesome, and I really appreciate you helping me. Love you!_

_I think we're nearing the end folks…I'm gonna go out on a limb and say there will be one more chapter after this. Thanks to all of you who have stuck with me for the journey!  
><em>

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><p><strong>Daddy's Boy<br>****Chapter 31: Letters, Questions, and Sentences**

Shannon turned around and dropped to her knees in front of her little girl—the little girl whose eyes were full of tears and who was visibly trembling. She was completely shocked by what she'd overheard.

"Listen to me Kelly. You listening?"

Kelly sniffled and then nodded.

"Tony is not completely blind ok? He can see. He can see fine out of his good eye, and out of the eye that got hurt he can see a little bit. He can see what's right in front of him. It's a bit blurry right now—he was seeing two of your daddy!" Shannon's eyes got big and she made a funny face and Kelly giggled through her tears. "How silly!"

"Can he still go play with me at the field?" Kelly's voice wobbled horribly and she was trying not to cry. She wanted to be brave—she had to protect her baby brother.

"Well he's got to stay in the hospital for a few more days. And once we get home he might not feel like it for a while. But he's going to get his eye fixed, and he's going to get his leg fixed, and I'm sure sometime soon you two will be up in the field, and he'll be running right along with you ok?"

"Then I won't go to the field until he's better," Kelly said matter-of-factly. "I will stay at home and play so Tony won't be lonely."

Shannon smiled and ran her hand lightly down the side of her beautiful daughter's face. "Tony wouldn't want you to not play because of him. It would make him sad."

Kelly squared her shoulders and looked at her mother. "I'm not saying a word about it," Kelly said firmly. "He won't be sad unless you tell him." She picked up the chocolate milk cartons she'd dropped on the floor—that thankfully had not burst upon impact. "Can I go see him?"

Shannon peeked in the room. "It looks like he's asleep honey. You can go in, but we have to be quiet ok?"

Kelly nodded. "Ok Mommy. I have something I need to do anyway." And with that, the little girl turned and walked into her brother's hospital room. Her shoulders were squared and her eyes were light.

No one would have ever suspected how upset she'd been only a moment before. Shannon followed her into the room, and couldn't help but wonder what it was her daughter needed to do.

xxx

Shannon sat on the couch and watched as Kelly worked on something diligently, giving it all of her attention. She had her markers out, her crayons, and had asked to borrow a pen out of Shannon's purse. Jackson and JoAnne were equally mystified, neither one knowing what the little girl was up to, and she would not let anyone see. Jethro was still asleep with Tony on the bed, and every once in a while Tony would twitch slightly or whimper, before snuggling in closer to Jethro.

"Kelly…what are you working on baby?" Shannon asked again.

Kelly was sitting at the rollaway table, her brow furrowed in concentration and her tongue was settled between her teeth. She looked up at Shannon. "I can't tell you Mommy," she said seriously. "It's a secret, and not for you. Sorry." Kelly turned her attention back to the paper in front of her.

A while later a nurse came by to check on Tony and bring in the lunch tray and Kelly looked up at her. "Miss Nurse?" she asked politely.

"Yes sweetie?"

"Do you have any envelopes?"

The nurse thought for a moment. This little girl had not been a pest like so many children were when stuck in the hospital for days on end. She was quiet and gentle, and kept herself busy, only occasionally asking for tape or a pencil or something of that nature. All of the nurses appreciated that and were glad to provide her with whatever she needed for her activities.

"I think we do," the nurse said with a smile. "I'll go look. How many do you need?"

"Just one please. Thank you ma'am," Kelly said politely.

Now Shannon's curiosity was peaked. She watched as her daughter slid off of her chair and walked to the table next to Tony's bed. She almost silently slid the drawer open and pulled out the phone book. Closing the drawer back she walked over to the rollaway table where she resettled in her chair and flipped the book open. She flipped page after page, looking carefully at each one before moving on to the next. The adults watched, mystified.

The nurse returned and handed Kelly a blank envelope. "You must be making something special," she commented. Kelly nodded.

Finally Kelly looked at one page and smiled. She picked up the black pen and began to copy down the information she was pulling off the page onto the envelope. She was proud of herself—they'd talked about how to use phone books at school, but she had never gotten to actually use one before now. Once she was finished, she closed the phone book back and quietly returned it to its place in the drawer.

Kelly walked back to the rollaway table, picked up the papers she'd been working on, and folded them. Shannon tried to see what it was, but all she could see was a couple of papers with colorfully drawn pictures, and a paper with writing on it. Kelly put the papers in the envelope and folded it shut.

"Mommy will you go mail this for me please?"

If Kelly wanted it to be sent to god-knows-where out in the universe, Shannon was going to have to put her foot down. "I can't mail it for you unless you let me read it first, honey. I have to know what you're doing."

Kelly's brow furrowed. "But Daddy says we're not 'posed to read each other's mail," she said. "And this mail isn't yours."

"I understand that," Shannon said patiently. "But because you are a little girl, when you send something in the mail it has a reflection on me and Daddy. So you need to let one of us read it ok? I'm not saying we won't mail it, but I am saying that we get to know what's in it before we drop it in the mailbox."

Kelly huffed. She didn't like it, but she knew it was the only way she was going to get to mail it. "Fiiiine," she groaned. Then she turned to her grandparents. "Can we go get a drink please? I'm thirsty."

Jackson raised an eyebrow at her, knowing she probably didn't want to be around when Mommy looked at whatever was in that envelope and he nodded. He nudged JoAnne and motioned for her to join them and they left. Shannon shook her head at her daughter's antics and opened the envelope. She gently unfolded the pictures and her eyes widened when she saw what her daughter was doing.

"Oh Jesus," she whispered, a hand rising to her mouth. Unable to tear her gaze away, she began to read.

_Dear Mr. DiNozzo._

_You do not know me because I am only a little girl but I know who you are. You were my little brother's daddy before my daddy got to be his daddy. You don't get to be his daddy anymore since you were so mean to him. I think you should go to jail for a very long time and I think you should not ever be able to see or talk to My Tony ever again since all you ever do is hurt him. He is blind because of you and can't see to go play in the field with me anymore. I hope you don't get to play outside when you are in jail. And I hope you are in jail until you are a very old man. Leave My Tony alone._

_From, Kelly Gibbs._

Shannon's eyes widened as she flipped the page and saw the pictures that Kelly had included. There was a picture of the family—of Jethro and Shannon, with Kelly and Tony, and also JoAnne and Jackson. The picture was brightly colored and happy looking. Underneath the picture Kelly had written the words, "We are glad Tony is in our family. We love Tony."

Flipping to the second picture she saw a sad looking man standing behind bars—obviously in a jail cell. The picture was dark and sad looking, but tinged with anger in the sharp angles her daughter had used. The words under this picture were equally blunt. "Mean Daddies need to be in jail."

Shannon rose from her chair and walked over to the bed. She put her hand lightly on Jethro's shoulder. "Honey…Jethro wake up," she said softly.

Jethro jerked awake and Tony groaned. "What?" Jethro said, rubbing his eye with one hand. He looked as precious as Kelly and Tony did when they were first waking up. "Timeisit?"

"It's nearly lunch time," Shannon said, "but you need to look at this. Before Kelly comes back from getting a drink. And then we need to decide what to do."

Jethro eased up, putting a pillow where Jethro had been for Tony to cuddle up to. Tony stirred for a moment, and Jethro ran a gentle hand over Tony's head and the child half smiled up at him once and resettled.

"What's going on," Jethro asked, still trying to wake up. He'd fallen into a quick, deep, exhausted sleep and was having a hard time shaking it. He needed coffee. Shannon passed him her cup that was half full. She could get more at the nurse's desk once he drank it all.

"Kelly…Kelly was upset about the news about Tony this morning," Shannon said softly. "She's decided that she needs to express herself. She wrote a letter."

"Who'd she write a letter to?" Jethro took a long pull off the coffee cup and made a face. Shannon always put cream and sugar in her coffee. But it was coffee, and it was what he had for now, so he wouldn't complain…much.

"Senior," Shannon said softly.

Jethro's eyes widened. Shannon handed him the stack of papers without a word and Jethro read what his baby girl had to say and looked at the pictures she had drawn.

"She's quite the artist," Jethro said. "She even drew the camo on my uniform." He smiled proudly.

"Jethro this is serious," Shannon pleaded. She knew that Jethro had no love lost for the sonofabitch sitting in the jail cell right now, but she didn't want to do anything that could potentially screw up their ability to get custody of Tony.

Jethro looked at her sharply. "I know how serious this is Shannon," he said stonily. "My son is lying in a hospital bed nearly blind in one eye because of what that useless sonofabitch did to him. I am _acutely_ aware of how. serious. this. is.

It had been a stressful week. They'd known going into it that it was going to be stressful, but no one had counted on this. And now, exhausted and scared, still not knowing what the outcome would be, it was unsurprising that tempers had begun to flare. Not erupt, but words were sharper, both parents were tired…they needed a moment's respite from this. They needed a break, but there was not one to be had.

"You don't have to snap at me Jethro," Shannon said softly, sadly. "I'm sorry, I know you know how serious it is. It just sounded like you were making light of what Kelly wants to do. I just don't want us to lose Tony because Senior thinks we're harassing him or something."

Jethro hugged his wife. "I shouldn't have snapped at you," he said. He looked at the pictures and the letter again. "She's really angry, isn't she?"

"More than either of us knew," Shannon said. "And I think she should be given the right to express herself. But I think we need to be careful in how we go about it."

There was a knock at the door. "Come in," Shannon called.

Brandi Paxton poked her head into the room. "Hi," she said softly. "I had some extra time on my lunch break…I thought I'd come see how Tony was doing."

"We've had a rough morning," Jethro said quietly. He glanced at the papers in his hand. "Hey can we ask you a question? Off the record?"

"Um…yes," Brandi said.

Jethro held out the papers. "Our daughter made this…wrote this letter…she wants to mail it. We aren't sure if that's allowed, but we want her to be able to express herself if she can."

Brandi took the papers and she read what the little girl wanted to say to the monster that lurked in her world. She looked up at the young parents—not so much older than her—maybe a year or two. "She's quite articulate, isn't she?" She smiled.

"Yes, she is," Shannon said. "We don't want to get in any trouble for harassment or anything like that…but it will break her heart if she doesn't get to send it to him."

Brandi smiled. "I have an idea. Let me give it to Teo. He's working Senior's case now and he can decide what to do with it. But that way it will be 'sent.'"

Jethro nodded absently and then froze. "Wait. Did you say…your _fiancé_ is representing _Senior_?" His voice was a low growl.

Brandi blinked. "The DA didn't call you? Yes Teo's representing him—and yesterday Mr. DiNozzo pled guilty to all of the charges."

"He did _what_?"

Brandi nodded. "I can't believe no one told you! His sentencing hearing is Monday. Teo wouldn't have been able to contact you because if it gets out it could be considered a conflict of interest and the judge could call a mistrial. Teo volunteered to take on Senior's case…and he did it so he could help you all."

"Jethro…" Shannon breathed. "If he pled guilty…there's no trial!"

"Exactly! It saves Little Tony from having to go through the court thing all over again when he gets better."

Jethro blinked. "How did he get him to confess? What did he do?"

Brandi held up her hands, "I have no idea, and I am not asking," she said firmly.

"What time is the sentencing hearing Monday?"

"Eleven."

"One of us should go," Shannon said.

"Me," Jethro said firmly. "I wanna see the look on the sonofabitch's face."

"Jehsrow?" Tony slurred softly from the bed. Jethro was by his side in an instant.

"Hey buddy," he said softly, smiling down at him.

Tony blinked a couple of times and then smiled a small smile. "I see two of you again," he giggled.

Jethro smiled sadly and ran his hand over the boy's hair. "Am I still fuzzy?"

"Not 's'much," Tony said softly.

"How's your head feeling?"

"I do not want to move it," Tony said softly.

Jethro leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss to the small forehead. "Then just lay still ok? You want the TV on?"

"No," Tony said softly. He glanced around and when he saw Brandi he offered a tiny wave.

"Hi Sweetie," Brandi said. "Are you feeling better?" She felt ill looking at his face. It was truly gruesome.

"You's a come a read me a stowy?"

Brandi looked at her watch. "Well actually I'm running a little late," she said regretfully. "But I can come back this afternoon when I get done at work and I'll read you two stories then! How about that?"

Tony smiled and nodded. Brandi patted his foot. "I'll take care of this for you," she said to Jethro and Shannon, waving the envelope slightly. The young parents nodded. "You can tell Kelly that her message is being hand delivered."

"She'll be thrilled," Jethro said with a smile, shaking his head.

"Thank you for stopping by Sweetie," Shannon said.

Brandi smiled, waved at Tony, and then left.

xxx

The next few days passed without a lot of fanfare. Tony decided he wanted to have Jethro and Jackson stay with him at the hospital. He really wanted Shannon to stay too, but he didn't want Kelly to be scared at home without Mommy or Daddy there. Kelly returned to school that Friday, and it was decided that on Monday morning, Shannon would drive up to LA to go to the sentencing hearing with Jethro. Kelly was in school and Jackson would sit with Tony while they were gone.

Tony's vision had improved a bit. Instead of total darkness in his periphery, Tony could now see shadows, lights, and colors, but nothing distinctive. The Gibbses still counted this as a success and a blessing and were not complaining. Any improvement would be welcomed. The little boy was still having horrible headaches as a result of the gunshot wound and the concussion. The stitches had come out over the weekend because they were getting "too itchy" and Tony was sporting a pretty visible scar around the bottom curve of his eye.

The child was still sleeping a lot, but was up for watching cartoons a bit on tv when he was awake. He was enjoying some new coloring books and colored pencils that Jackson had picked up for him as well. Jethro never left his side. Jackson would bring them meals back from the cafeteria and the three Gibbs men would eat their meals together. Tony was beginning to turn his nose up at the hospital food—a sure sign that he was feeling better—and so Jackson began sneaking him some treats in from the cafeteria as well. In place of the meatloaf, there would be chicken nuggets. In place of the rubbery scrambled eggs would be pancakes. In place of the red jello was green.

Monday morning though, everything was different. Jethro was up and in the shower when Tony woke up. Around mid morning, Shannon came in. She was all dressed up and Tony smiled shyly at her.

Shannon kissed him firmly on his healing head. "Look how much better you look Sweetheart!" She was pleased and excited to see that the bruising was beginning to fade. Still a deep purple color, but not the harsh black color that it'd been several days before.

"Shannon you look like a angel!"

Shannon chuckled and kissed Tony again. "Why thank you Sweetheart! Are you feeling better?"

"Yeah I still gets headaches some, but I ready to go to our house now."

"Well I don't think the doctor is quite ready to say goodbye yet," Shannon said. "But I think we should ask him. Might be soon!"

Jethro came out dressed in sweats and Shannon passed him the garment bag she'd brought with her. He kissed her hello and hugged his beautiful wife. "Tony's right babe," he commented, his hand on her hip. "You do look like an angel." He winked at Tony, who grinned.

Shannon blushed prettily and Jethro kissed her again. He'd missed her this weekend. It was nice spending time with his dad and with Tony of course, but he missed his wife. Perhaps once they got home, they could leave the kids with the grandparents for the evening while they went out to dinner or something.

"I'm going to change…out in a minute," Jethro said, ducking back into the bathroom.

Shannon listened to Tony tell about their weekend while Jethro changed. It was only ten, and the hearing was just down the road, and they weren't in a hurry. They weren't going to be late.

A moment later Jethro came out and then there was a flurry of activity as Jethro and Shannon got ready to leave and Jackson settled in to stay and Tony was completely confused.

"Bye Buddy," Jethro said, kissing Tony's forehead.

"Be sweet, Angel," Shannon said to him, dropping a kiss on his forehead as well.

Tony blinked back tears that suddenly sprang up. "Where you going?" Tony asked in a wobbly voice as he tried his hardest to be brave. "I sorry I's a bother…I's…I…" two tears trickled down his face.

Jethro sat down on the edge of the bed and straightened Tony's blankets. "Now Tony, you aren't a bother," he said matter-of-factly. "We're going to go to the courthouse to hear how long your father has to stay in time out ok? And as soon as that is finished we will be back. You haven't done anything wrong. We love you very, very much, and Grandpa is going to stay with you the whole time we're gone so you won't be alone. Ok?" He hugged his boy.

"You promise?"

Jethro looked down at Tony and tilted his chin up to look at him. "I promise."

"Will you leaves me something of yours so's I'll know for sure?" Tony's voice wobbled in fear.

Jethro smiled sadly. "I am leaving one of my most favorite things in the world with you," he said. "Something I would absolutely come back for."

Tony looked around. "What is it?"

"My dad, Tony. You and him are two of my most favorite things. Take care of each other for me ok? We'll hurry."

Tony stared at the door for a long minute after Jethro and Shannon left, his lower lip quivering. Jackson sat on the edge of Tony's bed. "Gonna be alright now Tony. This is an exciting day! Your father is going to go to jail for hurting you and your mother."

"He gonna go away? Really? He can't hurt me's no mores?"

"No he can't Tony. And Daddy and Mommy are going to go watch and make sure he goes away. They've promised to keep you safe, haven't they?"

Tony nodded slowly.

"That's what they're doing this morning," Jackson said gently. "They're making sure you are safe."

"What if…" Tony sniffled and two tears dripped down his cheeks and landed on the blanket in his lap. "What if they forgets me?"

"Not going to happen. Not ever going to happen. I promise." Jackson said, giving the child a hug.

xxx

Judge Mayers entered his courtroom and took in the scene before him. Anthony DiNozzo Senior was sitting with his attorney on the defense side, and on the other side, Howard Handel, the DA was sitting at another table. Behind the DA sat a young couple, huddled close together, their faces fills with anxiety. He assumed these people were the ones who wanted to adopt the little boy. On either side of them sat the Guardian Ad Litem, Maia Harwood, and the Social Worker, Anne Joseph.

He read over the plea agreement that had been settled upon, and he smiled. "Would the defendant and his counsel please rise," he said.

DiNozzo shot to his feet. This was it—this was his moment. The Gibbses were here; he'd seen them. This was the moment when they would get the blow that they had lost the war.

"On the charges of First Degree Murder of a Peace Officer, one Jimmy Sanford, a human being, you have pled guilty to Felony Murder."

"Yes Your Honor."

"On the charges of First Degree Murder of your wife, one Sophia DiNozzo, a human being, you have pled guilty to Felony Murder."

"Yes Your Honor."

"On the charges of First Degree Attempted Murder of your son, one Anthony DiNozzo Junior, a human being and a minor child, you have pled guilty to Attempted Felony Murder."

"Yes Your Honor."

"On the charges of First Degree Attempted Murder of a Peace Officer, one Peter Wallace, a human being, you have pled guilty to Attempted Felony Murder."

"Yes Your Honor."

"On the charges of Child Abuse and Neglect of your son, one Anthony DiNozzo Junior, a human being and a minor child, you have pled guilty to Child Abuse."

"Yes Your Honor."

"As an officer of this court, and by the power granted to me by the State of California, I will now read off your sentencing, to commence immediately following this hearing."

Jethro and Shannon looked at each other and held hands, staying silent in the courtroom, as a pregnant pause filled the room. Maia put a hand on Shannon's shoulder and squeezed gently. Anne offered a small smile to Jethro. Finally the judge began to speak.

"Mr. DiNozzo your sentence for the crimes you pled guilty to, two counts of Felony Murder and two counts of Attempted Felony Murder you will serve two life sentences, concurrently. You will be eligible for parole in twenty-five years."

Twenty-five years? Senior's mouth dropped open in shock. That wasn't how this was supposed to go down!

The judge continued. "In addition, for the crime of Child Abuse which you pled guilty to, you will serve a sentence of six years imprisonment to be served before your life sentence begins. You will also pay a fine of $6000. When you are released from prison on parole you will serve three years probation, during which time you will participate in weekly drug and alcohol screenings, and will have a weekly meeting with your probation officer."

A murmur swept through the courtroom and the judge banged his gavel to restore order.

"Your Honor," Teo spoke up.

"Yes, Counsel?"

"The Defense would like to request a media gag order."

"Denied."

"Yes Your Honor," Teo said.

"However," the judge said. "To all of the reporters in this room and to all of the reporters who are covering this trial, you are prohibited from speaking to the Gibbs family and friends. They have been through enough and deserve some privacy while they get their lives back together."

Jethro and Shannon breathed a sigh of relief. It was over. Their boy was safe. They hugged each other, and the social workers as well.

Senior was ranting at Teo. "You ignorant child! You sonofabitch! You said I would only be in prison until the media frenzy died down!"

"No, Mr. DiNozzo. That isn't what I said. You asked me if you would be in jail long enough for the media frenzy to die down. That's very different from me telling you that you would only be in prison that long."

"You…" Senior clenched his teeth, even as the bailiff came over and snapped handcuffs and shackles onto Senior for his transport. "YOU TRICKED ME!"

"Did I? You were the one who wanted to avoid trial," Teo said calmly. "I only helped you get what you want. You opted to avoid trial. You got it." Teo smiled. "And everything that goes with it. I'll come see you tomorrow at the prison, once you're settled, and we'll discuss your options."

The bailiff led Senior away. He could be heard ranting and yelling all the way down the hall.

Teo glanced at the Gibbses with an unreadable expression, but his eyes were smiling. This was neither the time nor the place to exchange pleasantries. Jethro and Shannon held hands and kept their heads bowed low as they left the courtroom. They weren't looking at anyone, they weren't answering any questions, they were just trying to get out of there so they could go back to Tony.

As Teo left the courthouse a while later, after answering questions for the media, Teo pulled out his phone and he slowly dialed a number. He and Brandi had talked it over. It was the right thing to do.

"Mr. Mitchell? Teo Martinez…I'm doing just great thanks. Lost my case this morning. Does the offer of a job still stand?"

A few moments later, seated behind the wheel of his beat up sedan that he'd been driving since Undergrad, Teo closed his cell phone and started his car. He drove away, already writing his resignation letter to the PD's office.

He was eager for them to start their new lives.

xxx

Jethro and Shannon sat down in the car with a grateful sigh. Anne had explained to them that the only thing left now, was a Family Court hearing to finalize the adoption. That hearing would be held next Thursday.

"We did it baby," Shannon whispered, smiling. "We've got him. He's safe with us. That mean old bastard can't hurt him anymore."

"He's going to be so relieved," Jethro said, squeezing his wife's hand. "We'll have to celebrate."

"Oh absolutely."

They started to head back towards the hospital, but Jethro turned at the last moment and headed for a local sports store instead.

"Where are we going Jethro? Don't we need to get back to Tony?"

"We do, but first…first we need to get him a helmet. I don't want anything to hold us up when the doctor says it's ok for him to go."

Shannon smiled. She loved her husband so much. He was such an amazing father. She settled in for the short car ride, content for the first time in weeks. Her family was safe. No one was going to hurt them again.

Let the healing begin.

TBC with Epilogue…


	32. Cebrelating

**Author's Note: **Thanks to everyone for reading and commenting on my story. You guys are amazing! MAKE SURE THAT YOU READ THE AUTHOR'S NOTE AT THE END!  
><em>Special Thanks to Gotgoats for betaing this whole ginormous story! You are truly amazing and I just love you so much! Pbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbt<em>

And now…the moment(s) you've all been waiting for…

**Daddy's Boy  
><strong>**Epilogue: Cebrelating**

The night after the sentencing hearing, Senior was kept in the county jail awaiting transport to the maximum security prison. In the morning, before the van arrived to take him away for the next twenty-five years (Senior still couldn't believe how badly he'd been tricked), his lawyer showed up.

Teo was dressed smartly in a tailored suit, silk tie and shined shoes. "Good morning Mr. DiNozzo," he said pleasantly.

"What the hell do you want," Senior snarled at the young man.

Teo fought the urge to laugh in his face. "Well I came to see how you're faring after the sentencing," he said innocently.

"You sonofabitch you knew damn good and well how many years I'd get in prison if I confessed to those goddamn crimes and you let me think that it wouldn't be that long! You lied to me!"

"I never lied to you," Teo said, holding up his hands in defense. "Whenever you asked me a question, I gave you an honest answer."

"An honest lawyer," Senior snorted. "I got screwed by an honest lawyer. I'll make sure you never get work in the Public Defender's office again!"

"Fine with me," Teo said seriously. "It would keep me from having to represent the likes of you," he paused for a moment. "Before I go…I was asked to deliver this to you. I think you'll find it enlightening."

Teo slid an envelope through the bars. "It seems you're already getting fan mail!" he said cheerfully.

Senior plucked the envelope out of Teo's hand and slung it on the bed. "Get out of here," he roared. "I don't want to even look at you again! Go! You're fired!"

"You can't fire me, Mr. DiNozzo," Teo said. "I quit. And next week when you realize you want to make an appeal—call someone else. I won't be available."

Teo turned and left the cell, and he never looked back. He had a beautiful fiancé, a wonderful job starting next week, and he had no room in his world for a sociopath like Anthony DiNozzo Senior.

xxx

Senior flopped down on his bunk and let out an exasperated sigh. He wondered if Teo had only showed up to poke at him—the lion in the cage. He wondered what time the van would be there. He wondered about what his new situation would look like. He ran a hand through his hair and looked at the envelope on the bed beside him.

Realizing he had a few minutes to kill, and wondering what was inside the thick envelope, Senior ripped it open. He was surprised when he saw three pieces of carefully folded paper fall out. Setting the envelope to the side, he opened the papers. His eyes widened in fury and horror as he began to read…

_Dear Mr. DiNozzo._

_You do not know me because I am only a little girl but I know who you are. You were my little brother's daddy before my daddy got to be his daddy. You don't get to be his daddy anymore since you were so mean to him. I think you should go to jail for a very long time and I think you should not ever be able to see or talk to My Tony ever again since all you ever do is hurt him. He is blind because of you and can't see to go play in the field with me anymore. I hope you don't get to play outside when you are in jail. And I hope you are in jail until you are a very old man. Leave My Tony alone._

_From, Kelly Gibbs._

Senior actually growled in anger as he flipped the page and saw the pictures that were included. The little brat had drawn a picture of a family—of the Gibbs couple with the little girl and Tony. There were two older adults in the picture as well. _Probably fucking grandparents,_ Senior fumed. He read the words carefully scrawled on the bottom of the picture, _"We are glad Tony is in our family. We love Tony," _and balled up the picture and tossed it to the side.

Flipping to the second picture Senior's gaze became murderous. There was a sad looking man standing behind bars—obviously in a jail cell. Who the hell did this child think she was? Where did she get off judging him for his actions? Was this the family that would be raising _his _son? He shook his head as he read the caption on the picture. "Mean Daddies need to be in jail."

Tossing that picture aside, along with the letter, Senior began to pace. He did that quite a bit. He walked to the end of his cell, turned, and his gaze fell on to the small pile of papers. "Fucking bitch," he growled. "Someone needs to teach that little smartass bitch some manners."

He walked to the front of his cell and slid his arms through the bars. On second thought, perhaps he should keep those pictures and that letter. They might prove useful one day. They might help him figure out who the hell the Gibbses were, and where they are.

He could guarantee that he was going to feel the need for a conversation in about thirty years.

xxx

The doctor shook his head and smiled when he saw the helmet that Jethro had selected for Tony to wear. The doctor had intended for Tony to have a helmet that covered the top of his head, and would keep him from hitting his face if he fell. Jethro had selected a helmet that covered Tony's entire head—from the back of his neck, almost down over his eyes and ears. Tony's head looked horribly abstract when he wore it, but adorable nonetheless.

"Are you ready to go home Tony?" It was the morning after the sentencing hearing and Tony was squirming to get out of the bed and go home.

Tony nodded and smiled. "I excited!"

The doctor smiled. "You are?"

"Yes! I get a go to my house with my Jethro and my Shannon and I get to see my puppy-doggie!"

Beside the bed, Jethro smiled. Shannon had returned home the night before to make sure that everything was ready for Tony's return. The bedsheets had been changed, extra pillows had been dug out of the closet, and Kelly was nearly vibrating with excitement over her brother returning home. Kelly wanted to throw Tony a welcome home party and invite all the children in the neighborhood, but Jethro and Shannon vetoed it, thinking that it might be too overwhelming for the little boy—they didn't want to trigger a migraine if they could avoid it. He'd have enough of them as it was.

Still very unsteady on his feet, and plagued by dizziness from the still-receding concussion, Little Tony didn't complain as Jethro lifted him gently into the wheelchair. Stuffed animals, balloons, cards, and the overnight bags were piled into another wheelchair for easier transport. As they neared the door, Tony groaned and put a hand over his tummy. Jethro immediately stopped.

"You ok buddy?"

"I's feelin' like I's a gonna frow up again," Tony whimpered, clapping a hand across his mouth.

The nurse who was walking them out nodded. "The doctor thought this might happen," he said. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small bottle of prescription anti-nausea medication. "Go ahead and give him one of these now, and he can have another one in four hours if he needs it."

"Tony doesn't do too well swallowing pills…" Jethro said uneasily, eyeing the bottle—and the size of the pills.

"They're chewables! Orange flavored."

Jethro nodded and dumped a pill out into his hand. "Here ya go Tony," he said, and Tony took the pill and smiled weakly when it tasted yummy. He chomped happily on it and the group continued outside to the rental car Jackson was using. Shannon had put Tony's car seat in the backseat the night before. Jethro lifted his littlest into the car seat and buckled him in.

"I'll ride in the back with him Dad," Jethro said softly, shutting Tony's door and walking around the back of the car to the backseat on the driver's side. They all thanked the nurse for all of his help before everyone climbed into the car. Jackson started the engine and looked in the back at Tony. They shared a smile and Jethro patted Tony's leg gently.

"Take us home, Dad," he said.

The nurse stood on the sidewalk and waved until the car was out of sight.

xxx

On the lower east side of LA, Anne Joseph pulled into a driveway and took a deep breath. She had required Stacy and Ted to repeat the entire process to become foster parents. They'd taken the course, the test, done the individual and couple interviews, completed the panel interview, been fingerprinted again and had their background checks redone. They'd completed the process several months earlier, but Anne was reluctant to place another child in their care.

This call had come in late the night before. When they checked available families, the only available families in the system that lived relatively close by were the Gibbses and the Kinleys—Stacy and Ted. Anne knew that Jethro and Shannon had their hands full right now, so she sighed and made the call. She talked to Stacy first, and then to Ted. She told them about the case, and about the child they would be getting the following morning.

Stacy was excited to be getting the child—a little girl named Kayla. Anne told them how she had been neglected, and was showing signs of being sexually abused. They would need to make sure she saw a pediatrician as soon as possible. Stacy agreed wholeheartedly and they set a time for the next morning.

Anne got out of the car now, and walked around to the back and opened the door. The little girl looked terrified, resigned, jaded. She was seven years old and had the weight of the world on her tiny shoulders. Anne lifted her out of the car with a gentle smile and hugged her close. "I promise, Little One," she said gently, running her fingers through the girl's hair. "I promise I will keep you safe. If you are not happy we will fix it ok?"

Kayla nodded. Anne had not heard her speak since they'd left her uncle's house. She picked up the child's bag. It contained a dress that was torn, a pair of blue jeans that was stained and a shirt. There was a small pink bunny with limp, tattered, dirty ears that was also hanging out of the top of the bag. It was everything the child owned.

Anne knocked on the door and Stacy and Ted let them in with smiles and handshakes. "This is Kayla," Anne said, eyeing the foster parents closely.

Stacy took a step closer. "Hi there," she said quietly with a gentle smile. Anne didn't say anything, but hoped that Stacy would be different now than she used to be.

Kayla looked at the woman who was to become her foster mother and gave a tiny wave. Anne gently sat her down and then handed Kayla's bag to Stacy. Ted took Kayla by the hand and was walking her towards the bedrooms, telling her about where she would be sleeping in a low voice.

Stacy opened the bag and glanced inside. "Well that bunny looks like it needs to go in the trash," she murmured, "it's completely ruined…and those clothes," she sighed, "walmart clothes…" She glanced up, realizing she'd been speaking out loud, and nearly cowered at the glare Anne was sending her way.

The social worker took a step forward. "Stacy…I want to explain something to you. When we were called to pick Kayla up from the house where she was staying with her uncle…we told her she could pack a bag. The items that you see in that bag—the items that you are calling trash—those are the things this child has in her world that she chose to bring with her. They are her things. I don't care if the bunny was dipped in skunk stink and rolled in tar—that bunny is staying."

Anne nearly smirked when Stacy looked mildly ill, but continued speaking. "And those clothes…she said the dress is one that her mother bought for her before her parents were killed. She chose the pants and the shirt in the bag because they were her favorite clothes when she would play outside with her father. Just because you think these things are garbage, because you think they're worthless, doesn't mean that they aren't the greatest treasures that this child possesses."

Stacy stared into the bag again, seeing the dreadful looking objects in a new way. She felt her heart break a little bit, and she looked up at Anne. "I was horrible to Little Tony," she whispered.

Anne nodded. "Yes you were. This is your second chance."

"He had a card…it was from the man who'd found him. It had his phone numbers on it…I threw it away…the clothes that the man's wife had bought for him…I threw those away too." She looked shocked. "I am so ashamed," she said softly. "Please…can you tell me if he is alright?"

Anne thought back over the year—the Christmas and the party for his birthday, the trips to the beach, the doctor…the drama in the courtroom…and she smiled. "He's doing really well. He's safe and with a family who absolutely adores him. Little Tony is going to be just fine."

Stacy smiled and tears filled her eyes. "So is Kayla," she promised. "We will make sure that Kayla is loved, and that she's happy—not just cared for." She smiled at Anne. "I promise."

Anne nodded. "I'll be checking up on you," she said. "You will have two visits a week from me for the first six months. We'll go from there."

Stacy nodded. "Absolutely," she said.

Anne stayed long enough to make sure Kayla was settled, and when she saw a smile on the child's face—something it took her far too long to see with Tony—she smiled and left with promises to visit again in three days. She got back in the car and thought back over the last year.

There had been many lessons to learn, but now, most importantly, there were two children with loving families who would be safe from the evil in the world.

Days like this made Anne love her job.

xxx

The lock rattled on the door to the cell block and Senior took a deep breath. Chuck was on duty this morning, and when Senior saw him walking down the block with the guard from the prison, Senior began to consider that maybe he'd had it not-so-bad with Chuck and his verbal jabs…the name badge on the guy's uniform said "Martin" and Senior decided very quickly that he needed to make a friend.

"Good morning," Senior said pleasantly.

"Shut it," said Martin. "I don't want to hear a peep out of you unless you are bleeding to death. And then you only get one peep. Got me?"

Senior swallowed hard and nodded slowly. Following orders seemed like a good idea—a better idea than making friends.

"Put your hands through the hole in the bars," Martin snapped. Senior complied and flinched when the handcuffs bit into his wrists just slightly. Martin had turned his hands so his palms were facing out. He had almost no use of his hands now.

"Take three steps back," Martin snapped. Chuck unlocked the cell and Martin stepped inside. Chuck blocked the door to the cell while Martin walked around behind Senior and snapped the shackles on his ankles. Martin snapped a chain on the handcuffs and snapped it on to the shackles. Martin moved to the door of the cell and stopped, noticing the balls of paper on the floor. He looked at Senior with fire in his eyes.

"DID YOU THROW THAT SHIT ON THE FLOOR?" Martin pointed at the papers.

Senior nodded silently.

Martin got right up in his face. "I ASKED YOU A QUESTION!"

"Yes Sir," Senior mumbled, feeling his dignity take another hit.

"Pick that shit up," Martin sneered. "And put it in your pocket. It's coming with you. That way you can decorate your new cell with it."

Senior picked up the papers that Kelly Gibbs had sent him without a word of protest, and put them into his pocket. Martin grabbed his arm and began steering him out of the cell, laughing when Senior stumbled on the short chains.

"You gotta take shorter, faster steps, dumbass," Martin laughed. "You'll kill yourself trying to strut like a peacock in those things."

Senior glowered at the guard. "Thanks for the warning," he mumbled, scuttling along beside Martin, trying to stay on his feet and not face plant before he got to the van.

xxx

Senior regained a little bit of his confidence once he arrived at the state prison facility. Looking through the bars as the people he would be sharing space with for the next…quarter of a century and he smiled. He as better than all of these people! He was educated and smart—well rounded and sophisticated.

Martin stopped outside of a cell and pulled out his keys. Inside was a man, sitting on the bunk—the lower one of course. The man's face was hidden by the bunk above his head, but Senior knew that he was being watched.

"Mornin' Moose," Martin said amicably as he opened the cell.

"Hiya Marty," replied a deep, rumbling voice from the shadowy bed.

"This here's your new roommate. Play nice, ok?" Martin undid the shackles and handcuffs and gave Senior a gentle shove into the cell. "Welcome to your new home," he said. "Moose here…well he's been needing a friend for a while now. He's been all alone since…"

"Since Lil Davy died," Moose said.

"Wh-who was Lil Davy?" Senior asked softly.

"Oh he was my cellmate before you. He died," Moose said with a sharky grin.

Senior's eyes widened. "What…uh…what happened?" All the confidence was running out the door—and leaving Senior alone in the cell.

Moose rose off the bed and Senior's eyes widened when he saw the giant of a man. Standing well over six feet tall, probably closer to seven feet, Moose's arms looked like tree branches, and his legs looked like tree trunks. The man's head was shaved bald and there was an eagle tattooed on his head, covering most of his hairless scalp. Senior noticed the man was scruffy with a few days old stubble, and he was missing several teeth, and—Senior gulped—a couple of fingers. Moose eyed him up and down skeptically, sizing him up. Senior felt his cheeks warm at the scrutiny.

"He died," Moose said, "Because he told someone my name."

"M-Moose?"

Without warning, Moose's arm shot out and he slapped Senior right across the head. "No Dummy," he said. "Although you're kinda funny. No he told someone my _real _name. Wanna know what it is?"

Senior shook his head. "N-No…M-Moose is fine with me…i-if it's ok with you."

Moose took a step closer and Senior could smell the stink of his breath. Martin stepped out of the cell and banged on the bars as he locked Senior in. "Y'all play nice," he said with a drawl and a chuckle, and then he strolled away, leaving Senior to fend for himself.

"Actually," Moose said, towering over Senior with an evil glare. "I think you should call me Sir. What are you in here for?"

Senior swelled up with…something…it wasn't confidence. Swagger maybe? Something that would surely get him killed if he didn't reign it in. He puffed out his chest. "I killed my wife, and abused and abandoned my son in a parking lot…Sir."

Moose's gaze darkened. He grabbed Senior by the shoulders, spun him around and slapped him—hard—into the wall. Senior's vision doubled for a moment from the impact with the wall, but quickly cleared. Moose pressed his body up close to Senior's back, resting all of his weight on the smaller man, and when he spoke his voice rumbled right into his ear.

"You killed your wife…and abused your son…and then abandoned him," Moose said slowly.

Beneath him, Senior nodded. He whimpered in pain and shock when a hand suddenly grabbed him by the balls—and twisted. "You know what I'm in here for," he sneered into Senior's ear.

Senior's guts twisted along with his balls and he could barely form a thought. "Uhh…no Sir," he gasped out, groaning louder when Moose twisted a bit harder.

Moose turned Senior around and slammed his back against the wall. Senior groaned in pain when his head bounced off the cinderblocks. He gasped when one of the beefy forearms suddenly settled over his throat and pressed—hard. Moose leaned right into Senior's face and smiled. The smile was evil, full of anger and malice.

"I'm here…because some douche bag murdered my wife and son," he snarled softly, his voice just barely a growl. There was a hint of sadness in his eyes as he remembered his lost family. "I killed that sonofabitch, and now I'm in here til I die."

Senior gulped. Moose smiled.

"I wonder how long you'll survive in here…maybe if you use that mouth of yours like all good little pretty cocksuckers should insteada talking so damn much…you might survive. How long the judge give you?"

"I'm eligible for parole in 25 years," Senior whispered. He blinked several times as his vision began to gray around the edge from lack of oxygen.

Moose pressed a bit harder and leaned in, kissing him on the cheek. "I'll be surprised if you last 25 days," he said. He shoved Senior to his knees and unzipped his pants. "But I'll teach you how to be a good boy. Don't you worry your pretty little head about that. On second though…maybe instead of Sir…maybe you should call me Daddy. Yeaaah that's it. You can be my little Daddy's Boy. I like it."

Senior whimpered as Moose pressed his hard, stinky erection into his mouth.

It was going to be a long 25 years.

xxx

Jethro woke up and smiled. He and Tony had been home for a week and a half. The trial was over. The grandparents had each gone back home to take care of a few things. There were talks that they would return for Tony's surgery, and each needed to check on things before then. This morning they would have their adoption hearing and after that—provided there were no unpleasant surprises—there would be a celebration, just the four of them.

The doctor had been unable to move the date of Tony's surgery, so he was still looking at his leg surgery being in the middle of July. He wore his helmet most of the time he was awake, but he was still battling frightening headaches, and some days when he'd first returned home he'd only wanted to lay in bed or on the couch. Jethro stuck close by him on those days. He'd decided to take some of his leave time to stay with Tony since the little one couldn't return to preschool yet. For now they were taking things a day at a time, and were beginning to see Tony make some wonderful improvements.

Jethro rolled out of bed, surprised at how late he'd slept and headed for the hall. The day before had been Kelly's last day at school for the summer. He peeked into her room and saw that she was still asleep. It was only seven in the morning, and Jethro smiled at his sleepy little princess. He smoothed her hair and kissed her forehead softly, before ducking back out of the room and crossing the hall to check on Tony.

They'd had a bit of a late night. It was the night before the adoption hearing and Tony was extremely fearful of having to go back to a courtroom. They'd explained to him that his father would not be there, that it would only be the four of them and the judge, but Tony was still a bundle of nerves. He'd worked himself up enough that he'd thrown up, which had triggered a migraine, which had caused him to tense more, leading to a leg cramp, and…on and on.

Jethro smiled in relief when he saw Tony was sleeping peacefully, helmet on the floor next to his bed, arms wrapped tightly around the stuffed octopus that Kelly had gotten him while he was in the hospital. He walked closer to Tony's bed and straightened his littlest's covers, tucking them up over his shoulder. Their hearing wasn't until eleven…there was time to let the children sleep a little longer. God knows they'd all earned a rest. He took a moment to pet Sasha on her head and she licked his hand. The dog hadn't understood where her boy had been or why he'd been gone for so long. But she knew that he smelled a bit different when he came home, and he was much quieter than usual, and she hadn't left his side in days, except for when she had to run outside to do her business, or visit the food and water bowls.

Heading downstairs, Jethro smiled when he smelled the coffee brewing. Entering the kitchen Shannon kissed his cheek and handed him a cup of the strong black brew that he loved. He sipped the coffee and closed his eyes with a smile. "That's good," he whispered. "How'd you sleep honey?" He grinned.

Shannon smiled. Once they'd finally gotten Tony down for the night, they'd both been too keyed up to sleep. They had spent quite some time wearing each other out…reconnecting…building their relationship to make it a little stronger…and this morning Shannon was practically glowing from all of their passionate lovemaking. It made Jethro a little sad that they would never be able to conceive another child together…but he had to admit…it certainly made their…nighttime activities more pleasurable for both of them. They were able to do what they wanted with each other, and not have to consider things like birth control, ovulation, condoms, or the like. They could simply focus on each other, and that made their lovemaking a truly beautiful thing.

"I slept like a baby once you finally decided to keep your hands to yourself," Shannon said with a playful chuckle.

"I was not the one who kept whispering and talking," Jethro said, equally playfully. "I am not responsible for my actions when you whisper in my ear like that, you naughty wench."

They clinked their coffee cups together and giggled softly. Sometimes, life was damn near perfect, and this…right here…sharing coffee together…this was one of those moments.

xxx

"Are you hungry?" Shannon asked. It was just before nine in the morning when Tony showed up at the bottom of the steps, yawning and scrubbing an eye with one hand. He'd not put his helmet on yet, which worried Shannon a bit, but he didn't seem too wobbly, so for now they would just keep an eye on him.

Tony nodded and yawned again, his hair was tousled and sticking up all over and he was moving at a snail's pace and limping badly—not uncommon for first thing in the morning. On top of everything tightening up while he slept and having to get his body moving again, Tony was not a morning person. He made his way slowly to the kitchen and smiled at Jethro who was sitting at the table with the morning paper.

"G'Morning Buddy," Jethro said with a smile.

Tony waved at him and put his head down on the table still sleepy. He was also feeling nervous, but hadn't given that feeling much attention yet.

Jethro smiled and ruffled his child's hair. "Where's your helmet?"

Tony raised his head and looked at him. "I's forgotsed it," he said softly.

Jethro noticed the way that Tony was speaking…the reverting behavior was always indicative of something bothering the little one. "You ok?"

"I's scareded," Tony whispered.

Jethro pushed back from the table a bit. "Come here," he said gently, holding out his arms to his child. Tony slid off the chair and found himself scooped up into the safety of Jethro's lap. Nothing could ever touch him here. "What are you feeling scared of, Littlest," Jethro asked softly.

"I's…" Tony sighed. "I's a-afwaid they's a gonna makes me go and live with someone new," Tony said softly. "I's a…I's scareded m-my mean-daddy g-gonna h-hurt me again."

There had been no more improvement to Tony's vision. He could see fine straight ahead, a bit blurry around the edges when he used only his right eye. His peripheral vision was only colors and fuzz though…there was no distinction to the things he was seeing. He was partially blind in that eye, and the doctor was not optimistic about that ever changing.

"Well I can guarantee you one thing. Your mean daddy is in prison. He's gone. He'll be gone until you are a grown up. And he will not hurt you anymore ok? You are safe and mean daddy isn't going to hurt you. And as for you having to go live somewhere new? I don't think that's going to happen."

"Why how's a come you's a so sure," Tony said, jumbling his words together a bit.

"Well…because we love you so much…and I think you love us so much…and I think once the judge sees that, he will say that you can be our little boy forever."

"You's a be my new daddy?"

"I'll be your new daddy," Jethro confirmed, swallowing a growing lump in his throat. "Your mean daddy won't be your daddy anymore after today."

Tony smiled. He liked that idea. "I's a be your littlelest?"

Jethro kissed him on the forehead and smiled, tweaking the child's nose softly. "You will be my littlest and I will be your daddy."

"What would you like for breakfast," Shannon asked, coming into the kitchen with a sleepy looking Kelly dragging along behind her. "We have to keep moving…we need to leave in about an hour so we will have time to drive up to the courthouse so we aren't late."

Tony looked up at Jethro, and then looked at Shannon. "Can we's a have blueberry pancakes?"

Shannon looked at him. "This morning?" She glanced at the clock.

Tony nodded. "We's a had's 'em a first times I eated here," Tony said softly.

Jethro and Shannon were immediately thrown back to the night that they met the small child who had fallen and crashed into the garbage cans in the picnic area on the fairgrounds. How far they'd come. "Sure Tony," Shannon said. "We'll let Daddy drive us to court," she grinned at Jethro. "We'll not be late."

xxx

"This court awards full custody of Anthony DiNozzo, Jr, a human being and a minor-child to Gunnery Sergeant Leroy Jethro Gibbs and his wife, Mrs. Shannon Fielding Gibbs, both being of sound mind and having adhered to all requirements established by this court. Custodial parental rights of Anthony DiNozzo Senior have been permanently terminated effective immediately. Visitation is prohibited. Mr. DiNozzo is to have no contact with the minor-child Anthony DiNozzo Jr., his custodial guardians, or any member of their family. He also may not occupy any space within five hundred yards of the minor child."

The judge adjusted his glasses and looked at Jethro and Shannon. "As per request, the child's name shall be legally changed and a new birth certificate will be designated reflecting the change. Sgt. Gibbs, Mrs. Gibbs, take Anthony DiNozzo Gibbs home and be good to him. This court is adjourned."

The bang of the gavel seemed to startle little Tony who still hated loud sounds. He flinched and squinted both eyes shut at the sudden loud noise. A large hand rested gently on his shoulder and he bit his lip trying not to flinch. He looked up and saw Shannon hugging Maia and thanking her, and saw Kelly smiling at him excitedly. Jethro was smiling down at him, and knelt before him.

"Easy Tony," Jethro's voice was soft in his ear. "You ready to go?"

Tony shook his head. "I's don' wanna go with my mean-daddy no mores," he said softly. He hadn't understood what the judge was saying—confused by all of the legal speak, Tony had only heard his father's name, and Jethro and Shannon's names. He didn't understand what was going on.

"Oh you aren't going with him Tony. Not ever again. He's gone now," Jethro reassured him. "You're coming with us."

"Where we's goin?"

Jethro smiled. "How about we go have a special lunch?"

"Kelly too?"

"Yes Kelly too!" Kelly exclaimed. The family left the courthouse together, all smiles.

xxx

The family went to a place Tony had never visited before.

"What's this place," he wondered softly, taking in the purple and orange walls and rows of games and places to play. A set of ski-ball tracks lined one wall, shelves of toys lined another, and there was a stage along the back with a real life drum set.

Tony couldn't believe his eyes—there was a gorilla sitting at the drums and a large mouse holding the guitar. A bear was holding up an electric bass. But…animals couldn't play instruments, could they? There were children and parents and families all over—mostly younger children since not all of the schools were on vacation yet, and everyone was eating.

Tony turned to Jethro with a fearful gaze, his fingers knotting furiously. "What's we gonna do here," he asked him softly. Kelly whooped in excitement and ran off as soon as her hand was stamped.

Jethro knelt before him and hugged him gently. This child needed so much love and affection; Jethro and Shannon tried to give it to him whenever possible. "This place is a place where you can play and have a lot of fun. We're celebrating Tony."

Tony thought for a moment. "What's ceb…re…lating," he asked, mispronouncing the word.

"Cel-eh-brat-ting," Jethro pronounced the word slowly. "It means…well I guess it's kind of like we're having a party."

Tony's eyes widened in fear and he glanced around desperately for the door to the outside. He remembered his own birthday party and how the kids had each brought gifts. "I's didn't bring a present!" Tony felt awful because he hadn't thought to bring a present.

"Aww baby you don't need to bring a present," Shannon said gently. "This celebration is all about you and how excited Daddy, Kelly, and I are that you get to live with us forever!"

"Why's ya excited? I's bad," Tony said softly, his eyes drifting to his shoes.

"Oh no," Shannon said hugging him. "You aren't bad at all sweetheart. You're wonderful and we love you so much."

Tears filled Tony's eyes. He was so confused by everything that had happened. It was all very big to a little six year old. "Then how's a come my mean-daddy thinks I's a worthless sniveling little shit?"

Several parents cut their eyes suspiciously first at Tony and then at Jethro at the child's words. Jethro quickly glared them away.

"Honey your father told you lots of mean things didn't he?" Shannon's voice was soft and she rubbed up and down Tony's arms.

Tony bowed his head for a moment and then nodded, his eyes still on the floor.

"Sweetie, the bad things he said to you…they weren't true. They were all lies," she told him. "Remember we talked about that? About how he told you those lies to make you feel yucky?"

Tony's gaze shot up in shock and he stepped back shaking his head. "No 'em wasn't lies! I's bad!"

"Why do you think you're bad kiddo," Jethro asked him softly.

"A cause I's peed the bed and I's lost-ted a tooth an' it bleeded onna pillow case. Oh and a cause I's 'pilled-ded my milk cup and a cause I's too loud. An' then I's a got hurted inna court and I's a cried when my leg hurted…I's loud and I's dumb and mean-daddy say he shoulda sacked me and tossed-ded me inna river whens I's a baby so's I wouldn't be so much trouble."

Tony explained all of this in a very matter of fact voice and when Jethro and Shannon didn't respond immediately he looked up shyly.

Shannon had her face tucked into Jethro's shoulder and Jethro looked like he wanted to kill something.

Tony gulped. "See?" His voice was soft, sad and resigned. "I's bad. I's made Shannon cry and I's made Jethro mad. I's bad. Bad, bad, bad."

Jethro dropped to his knees and pulled Tony into a hug so fast he squeaked in surprise. "You. Are. Not. Bad. You did NOTHING wrong and nothing to deserve what that man did to you. You hear?"

Tony hesitated for a moment then nodded.

"We're mad and sad because your father made you believe those things. We are not upset at you. We love you and we want you with us. We think you are wonderful."

Tony pulled back and stared at his new daddy. "Wonnerful? Not bad?"

"Not bad Angel," Shannon whispered through her tears. "Never bad. We are so happy you are ours."

Tony nodded slowly, unsure of how he should react. Jethro smiled and saved him.

"So tell me. Do you like pizza Tony?"

The child stared at his new daddy for a long minute before dropping his gaze to the floor again. He mumbled something but it was so quiet that Jethro couldn't hear it over the noise of the restaurant.

"What's that son? I couldn't hear you."

A quake of fear charged through the little boy and he stared up at Jethro in fear.

"I's sorry! Sometimes I's forgets I's gotta talk loud."

"That's ok Tony," Jethro soothed him. "Can you tell me what you said?"

Eyes dropped again and Jethro ran his fingers through the child's hair.

"I's said I's don' even knows what pizza is. I's heard it but I's never tried it."

Jethro blinked and gazed at Shannon who bit her lip. Had they honestly not had pizza since they'd had Tony? How could that be?

"Well I like it. I think you'll like it too," Jethro told him. He led them to a booth and they sat down.

Tony's eyes were alight with interest. "You's a gonna lets me tried it?"

Jethro nodded. "If you want. Let's order and then we'll play."

Tony looked around curiously. "Play what?"

Shannon smiled. "Everything in here is for kids to play with. You could even go on stage with the band if you like."

Tony's eyes rounded and his jaw dropped slightly. Then he quickly shook his head and looked at his lap. "No…no thanks," he said softly. "I's shy. I's can't sing."

Shannon smiled and ran her fingers over the child's shoulders. "You don't have to sing. We just want you to have fun."

The waitress came over. She had her long hair tied back and braces on her teeth. "Hi! I'm Tina! I'm gonna be your waitress! Do you know what you'd like or would you rather me start with drinks!"

Tony shrank pitifully away from the perky waitress. This day was so hard and filled with so many strange people. First the big judge, and now this strange place filled with screaming children and loud waitresses. Didn't people know they could get whippins for being so loud?

Jethro smiled at Tony and then looked to the waitress. He ordered sodas for all of them. "And," he said, "we want to get a large pizza."

"Ok! And what would you like on it!"

Jethro looked at Shannon who nodded her head. "Pepperoni, sausage and extra cheese," he told her.

"OK! I'll have that out to you in just a few minutes!"

"Where do we get tokens," Jethro asked her. Shannon smiled down at Tony and made a silly face. Kelly came running up, excited, and already out of breath from the exertion of trying to see everything at once.

"There's a token dispenser just around the corner!" Tina pointed.

"Thanks," Jethro said and stood up. A few moments later he returned with two plastic cups filled with gold coins. He handed one to Kelly who thanked him and then ran away, and set the other down in front of Tony. "There ya go buddy. You use the tokens to play," he said and held out his hand for the little boy.

Tony slid off the bench and took Jethro's hand. He held the cup of coins in the other hand and stared at it almost reverently. He glanced back at Shannon.

"I'm gonna stay here and wait for the pizza," she told them. "You boys go have some fun, and after we eat I'll play too."

Tony nodded and looked up at his daddy, his eyes round with shock. "You gived me moneys?"

"Sort of," Jethro said, chuckling. "These tokens cost money, and they make the games work." They approached the ski-ball tracks. "Let's see," he mumbled to himself. "Put the token in…here…and then—oh! There it goes," he said as the balls rolled down. "Now we play!"

"How's a play? I's don't know how," Tony said, his cheeks turning pink. He felt bad that he'd never played before. Embarrassed.

"I'll show you Tony," Jethro told him. "Nothing to be ashamed of. You'll like it. Ok so you take the ball like this," Jethro picked up one of the wooden balls and handed it to Tony. "Then you stand here," he carefully positioned the boy so his arm was in the middle of the track. "Then you have to roll the ball up the ramp and land it in a cup. You can't throw it though, you have to roll it."

"Show me please? You's a go first," Tony begged.

Jethro nodded and rolled the first ball. It landed in the 30 cup. Tony smiled brightly and clapped his hands. He made an awkward movement that looked suspiciously like a jump and nearly fell over. Jethro caught him easily, thankful that, in the end, they'd made Tony wear his helmet. "Good job Jethro!" Tony exclaimed.

Jethro wished Tony would call him Daddy. His heart ached for it. He wanted his little boy to know that Jethro was his daddy now and that he was safe with him. Jethro figured there may be some negative relation between the name and the person though, if he associated his birth-father with the word daddy at all. Jethro began to wonder if the child would ever call him anything other than Jethro.

"Ok Tony," Jethro told him. "It's your turn now. Like I showed you."

Tony ambled awkwardly up to the track and picked up a ball. He positioned himself very carefully just as his daddy had showed him how to do. He took a deep breath, and rolled the ball…halfway up the ramp. It rolled back to him and Tony looked up at Jethro, tears filling his eyes. "I's no good," he said softly, starting to put the ball down.

"Oh no you don't," Jethro said. "You were doing great you just need a little more power behind it, that's all. Just have to roll it a little harder. You were headed right for the high scores. I did the same thing my first time."

Tony blinked. "Really? You's was bad at it too?"

Jethro laughed. "Yep, it takes practice. Let's try again, shall we?"

Tony giggled and nodded eagerly. He positioned himself again and this time rolled the little ball as hard as he could. The ball skipped up the ramp and landed right in the 50 hole. Tony stared at it for a minute, the beginnings of a grin tugging at his lips. Jethro patted him on the shoulder and kissed the side of his head. "That's good work son," he said. "Go again!"

Tony decided that he loved ski-ball. When the game was over he looked at Jethro. "I's wanna play mores!"

"Well put another token in and we'll play more," Jethro told him. He glanced over his shoulder at Shannon who smiled and waved. He waved back. "Hey Tony, look. Mommy's watching you," he said. A quick glance around told him that Kelly was having fun blasting a fire truck with a water gun.

Tony didn't answer and Jethro turned to see why. Tony was clutching the cup close to his chest, and shaking his head slightly. Jethro, ever patient with his son, knelt before him. "What's up buddy?"

"I changed-ded my mind," Tony said softly. "I's don' wanna play no mores."

"Ok," Jethro said easily. "You want to play something different?"

Tony shook his head no.

Confused by the sudden change in his little boy's demeanor, Jethro put gentle hands on his child's shoulders. "Why don't ya wanna play?"

Tony clutched the cup even tighter and squeezed his eyes shut. "I's a gonna saves 'em," he told Jethro in a strangled whisper.

"But they're meant to be used," Jethro told him gently. "You use them to play the games!"

Tony shook his head again. He began grabbing handfuls of the tokens and shoving them into his pockets.

"What ya doin' kiddo? Talk to me," Jethro said. He sat down on the floor, right in the middle of the restaurant and pulled his child into his lap. "What's going on in that noggin of yours?"

"I…I's a gotsa saves the moneys," Tony said, fear in his voice and was it—desperation?

"What do you want to save them for?" Exasperation was beginning to creep into Jethro's voice and he willed it back down. Tony would have a good reason—though for now there was no telling what it would be.

Tony shrugged and his head bowed. "A portant stuff," he said matter-of-factly to his lap.

Jethro ran a hand through his hair. "Okkkkk," he said drawing out the word carefully. "What important stuff?"

Tony leaned his head back so it was on Jethro's shoulder, and he put his hands over his pockets. "I's don' wanna tell you," he said uneasily. "You's a get mad a me."

"I won't get mad Tony," Jethro hugged the little boy a bit and rocked back and forth slightly. "I promise I won't get mad. You know you can tell me anything."

Tony took a deep breath. "I's a gonna saves my moneys so I's can gets my leg better. If I's still gots moneys after I's gets my leg better, I's a gonna buy Shannon and Kelly a flower and I's a gonna buy you's a toy car so's we can race." He paused and looked up at Jethro. "If you's wanna?"

Jethro was completely floored by the little child's confession. "Oh Tony. Of course I'd love to race cars with you," he told his boy, softly, right into his ear. He patted the little boy's bad leg gently, "and we'll get your leg better," he promised. "Remember Dr. Trexler? He's going to help us get your leg better. And you don't have to pay for it Sweetheart. Mommy and Daddy will take care of it ok? You're ours now and we will take very good care of you because we love you so much."

Jethro saw Shannon waving them over. The pizza had arrived.

"We'll get you a coin bank if you like Tony," Jethro said standing up. He carried Tony with him, bridal style, so he could see Tony while he talked. "If you have a coin bank then you have a safe place to save your real money. However. The tokens in your pockets only work here. They don't work anywhere else. This is the only place you can spend them."

Jethro sat Tony beside Shannon before he sat down next to Kelly and they began to eat. Tony mmm'ed and ummm'ed and ahhh'ed in delight at the wonderful taste of the pizza. He'd always wanted to try it! But his mean-daddy would never let him. Now his new daddy liked it too! Tony ate two large slices of pizza, much to Shannon and Jethro's delight.

"He's gonna eat us out of house and home when he gets bigger," Jethro told Shannon with a smile. He winked at Tony who grinned.

After lunch they all played together and Tony used about half of his tokens. They played ski-ball together and lots of other games. After an hour or so of being on his leg nonstop, Tony began to wobble some, his leg was just unable to hold him up anymore. It seemed to Jethro and Shannon that the leg was getting worse by the day. It seemed that the more Tony relaxed, the more his leg hurt. He didn't have to struggle to be strong so more. He knew he had a mommy and a daddy who would take care of him.

Jethro scooped his boy up, hugging him close. Tony wrapped his good leg around Jethro's waist, the other leg dangled limply, the bad angle of it was easy to see. It reminded Jethro of the evening they found Tony, and Jethro was pleased to note that Tony was heavier than he'd been that night. Shannon took Kelly's hand and they slowly made their way to the car. They didn't even cash in their tickets—they would do that next time.

Jethro strapped Tony carefully into his car seat and Tony blinked sleepily up at his new daddy.

"I's a take a rest," he mumbled with a yawn. "My leg a hurts," he whimpered. His hand moved slowly to the spot where it always hurt the most.

"Sorry buddy," Jethro said softly. "We'll give you some of your medicine when we get home to help it not hurt so much, and we'll put the ice pack on it again ok?"

Tony nodded, mostly asleep. Shannon crawled in the back seat, between the kids. "I'll sit with him and rub his leg. That sometimes helps," she told Jethro. He nodded and climbed in the driver seat of the SUV. Kelly chattered away, pleased with how her day had turned out and excited that they'd all had so much fun.

They arrived home a little while later and Shannon smiled when she saw that Kelly had fallen asleep during the car ride, her head resting on the window. Tony was also asleep; his head was rocked forward in his seat and Shannon carefully removed the helmet. She was afraid that with it being as big as it was, that it would cause his neck to ache if he sat like that for too long.

She looked at her sleeping children and then up at her husband. He smiled and nodded. He got it. They carefully climbed out of the car and took their children up to their beds. It was late in the afternoon—the perfect time for a bit of a rest. Shannon picked up her cross-stitching and Jethro opened a magazine he'd gotten in the mail about wood working. They sat together on the couch, enjoying the peace that had finally settled upon them. Upstairs the faint sounds of sleeping children could be heard. It wouldn't be long before they were awake and things would get exciting again.

But for now there was peace. Quiet, relaxing, all encompassing peace. Jethro put his hand on his wife's knee as they each focused on their own activity. She smiled at him for a moment before turning back to her pattern.

Life was good.

The End

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong>_ Many of you have expressed some sadness that this is the end of Daddy's Boy (for which I am extremely grateful!). Just a reminder that this story is part of an on-going series. The next story in the series is called "**Breaks and Repairs**." There will be some drama, there will be some mystery, there will be some angst (because I can't seem to write a story without it!), and there will be lots of family bonding. I'm already working on this story, so it shouldn't be too long before I get the first chapter up!_

_Again, thanks to everyone who has read and commented on this story. Over 1000 reviews—I am completely speechless and extremely grateful. Please join me as we watch our Little Tony start to grow up. I welcome any feedback or suggestions that you have—but please remember to be nice!_

_See you all soon!_

_Hugs, Headbanger_


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